[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 30 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1039-S1041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE SESSION
F_____
NOMINATION OF MARGO KITSY BRODIE TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR
THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination which
the clerk will report.
The assistant editor of the Daily Digest read the nomination of Margo
Kitsy Brodie, of New York, to be United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of New York.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, am I correct that the order is such that
the vote will be at 5:30?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The order is actually for 60 minutes of
debate.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote be at
5:30.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, certainly if the ranking member comes to
the floor and wishes to change that, I would not object.
Earlier this month the Senate finally ended a four-month and two-day
filibuster of the confirmation of Judge Adalberto Jordan and he is now
the first Cuban-American to serve on the Eleventh Circuit. We also
finally ended the five-month filibuster of the nomination of Jesse
Furman, a former counselor to Attorney General Mukasey, and he is now a
confirmed Federal trial judge in the Southern District of New York.
The Majority Leader should not have had to file cloture petitions for
the Senate to vote on these outstanding judicial nominations. Senate
Republicans have filibustered nine of President Obama's judicial
nominations despite the fact that he has reached out to both Republican
and Democratic home state Senators and nominated qualified,
ideologically moderate men and women to fill vacancies on our Federal
courts.
Before I turn to the nomination of Margo Brodie, another nomination
that should have been confirmed last year after being reported by the
Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously in October, I want to spend a
moment reflecting on Senate Republicans' treatment of Jesse Furman.
Judge Furman was a Federal prosecutor who also served as a top legal
advisor to Attorney General Michael Mukasey during the George W. Bush
administration. He was involved with the prosecutions of the Times
Square bomber, the infamous Russian spies, and a Pakistani scientist
with ties to Al Qaeda whose actions were responsible for the 1998
bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He has impeccable
credentials including having clerked for Justice David Souter on the
United States Supreme Court. Based on his superior qualifications and
bipartisan support, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported his
nomination last September unanimously, without a single Republican
Senator dissenting.
His nomination, like so many others, was then subjected to
obstruction and delay. From the start of his term, Republican Senators
have applied a double standard to President Obama's nominees. Senate
Republicans have chosen to depart dramatically from the long tradition
of deference to home state Senators on district court nominees.
Instead, an unprecedented number of President Obama's highly-qualified
district court nominees have been targeted for opposition and
obstruction. That approach is a serious break from the Senate's
practice of advice and consent. Since 1945, the Judiciary Committee has
reported more than 2,100 district court nominees to the Senate. Of
these 2,100 nominees, only six have been reported by party-line votes--
only six total in the last 65 years. Five of those six party-line votes
have been by Republican Senators against President Obama's highly-
qualified district court nominees. In fact, only 22 of those 2,100
district court nominees were reported by any kind of split roll call
vote at all, and eight of those, more than a third, have been by
Republican Senators choosing to oppose President Obama's nominees.
President Obama's nominees are being treated differently than those of
any President, Democratic or Republican, before him.
Despite his qualifications and bipartisan supporters, Jesse Furman's
nomination was stalled for more than five months by Senate Republicans.
When the Majority Leader was able to break through and schedule debate
and a vote, I saw something else I have not seen until recently.
Republican Senators who had supported the nomination after studying it
for months when it was before the Judiciary Committee for a hearing and
vote, flipped and changed their votes.
In total, 34 Republican Senators voted against this highly-qualified
nominee. I am at a loss as to why. It appears that Senators decided to
ignore Jesse Furman's record and be swayed by mischaracterizations of a
brief he had written in a religious freedom case or by something he
wrote as an 18-year old freshman in college. I urge Senators, as I have
for years, not to listen to the extreme special interests but to make
their own judgments. I suspect that in this case it was the last-minute
campaign by narrow special interests groups that accounted for the
number of negative votes.
Today the Senate will vote on the confirmation of another highly-
qualified, consensus nominee to the Federal bench. Margo Brodie has
practiced law for 20 years including working as a Federal prosecutor in
Brooklyn for the last 12. She has risen from the ranks of Assistant
U.S. Attorney to Deputy Chief of General Crimes to Deputy Chief of the
Criminal Division. Ms. Brodie has successfully prosecuted numerous
cases on matters ranging from violent crimes and drug offenses to white
collar crimes. She has also led public corruption cases, successfully
prosecuting criminals who embezzled funds and tried to bribe government
agencies in her home state of New York.
Ms. Brodie has the support of both her home state Senators and was
reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 6, 2011, without
a single dissent. She has demonstrated her commitment to the rule of
law, her legal abilities and knowledge of the law. It is past time for
the Senate to confirm this outstanding African-American woman to the
Federal bench.
Margo Brodie is one of 20 judicial nominations approved by the Senate
Judiciary Committee still awaiting a final vote. Fifteen of these
nominations have been pending since last year and should have been
confirmed before the end of last year. Eighteen of these nominees
received strong bipartisan support from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
These nominees should be confirmed without further delay. Now in the
fourth year of President Obama's first term, the number of judicial
vacancies remains at 85. That is nearly double what they were at this
point in President Bush's administration. One hundred and thirty
million Americans live in circuits or districts with a judicial vacancy
that could be filled if Senate Republicans would vote on judicial
nominees that have already been voted on by the Senate Judiciary
Committee and are stalled awaiting final Senate consideration.
The Senate is more than 40 confirmations behind the pace we set
confirming President Bush's judicial nominees in 2001 through 2004. For
the second year in a row, the Senate Republican leadership ignored
long-established precedent and refused to allow votes before the
December recess on the nearly 20 consensus judicial nominees who had
been favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee.
Ultimately, it is the American people who pay the price for Senate
Republican's unnecessary and harmful delay in confirming judges to our
Federal courts. It is unacceptable for hardworking Americans who are
seeking their day in court to find seats on one in 10 of those courts
vacant. When an injured plaintiff sues to help cover the cost of
medical expenses, that plaintiff should not have to wait for years
before a judge hears his or her case. When two small business owners
disagree over a contract, they should not have to wait years for a
court to resolve their dispute.
I, again, urge Senate Republicans to stop the destructive delays that
have plagued our nominations process. I urge them to stop the slow-
walking of highly-qualified, consensus nominees. The American people
deserve no less.
[[Page S1040]]
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today we turn to the nomination of Margo
Brodie to be U.S. District judge for the Eastern District of New York.
This will be the 69th judicial nominee of President Obama which the
Senate has confirmed during this Congress. Overall, more than 70
percent of President Obama's judicial nominees have been confirmed.
We continue, on the Senate floor and in the Judiciary Committee, to
work together to reduce the number of judicial vacancies. We have held
21 nominations hearings during this Congress, with 80 judicial nominees
appearing at those hearings. All in all, over 85 percent of President
Obama's judicial nominees have received a hearing. We will hear from
additional judicial nominees later this week.
So even as we continue to hear concerns about the judicial vacancy
rate and claims of obstructionism, I would note we are making progress
as we continue to confirm judicial nominees. But let me emphasize again
that for more than half of the vacancies, including those designated as
``judicial emergencies,'' the President has failed to submit a
nomination. So critics need to look at the beginning of the process
when commenting on vacancies.
I would like to say a little about our nominee today. Ms. Brodie
earned a BA from St. Francis College in 1988, and her JD from the
University of Pennsylvania School of Law in 1991. She began her legal
career as an assistant corporation counsel for the City of New York in
1991. In this role, she defended city agencies and officials in the
performance of their duty to manage municipal affairs.
In 1994, Ms. Brodie became an associate with Carter, Ledyard &
Milburn, representing clients in various types of civil litigation.
Since 1999, Ms. Brodie has served as an assistant U.S. attorney with
the Eastern District Court of New York. From May 2005 to March 2006,
she served as a legal advisor to the Independent Corrupt Practices and
Other Related Offices Commission, ICPC, in Nigeria. From 2006 to 2009,
she supervised new AUSAs in the General Crimes Section in roles as
deputy chief and chief. In October 2009, she became the counselor to
the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office. In her current
position as deputy chief of the Criminal Division, she supervises over
100 Criminal Division AUSAs in the areas of public corruption, civil
rights, terrorism, organized crime, gang violence, narcotics
trafficking, and business and securities fraud. She also advises the
office on legal policy and management issues.
Ms. Brodie has received a majority: ``Qualified;'' minority: ``Well
Qualified'' rating from the American Bar Association's Standing
Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President. I rise today in strong support of the
historic confirmation of Margo K. Brodie to the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Frankly, at this point, all of our nominees deserve special
attention. With one out of 10 seats on the Federal bench still vacant,
and with 14 nominees with strong bi-partisan support pending since last
year, we should be focused today on confirming more than one nominee.
However, Margo Brodie's nomination is of singular importance to my
fellow New Yorkers, and to this country.
First--to put it simply her presence is desperately needed on one of
the busiest benches in the country, one that handles some of our most
important cases.
Second, Margo Brodie will be, by all accounts, the first Caribbean-
born nominee in our Nation's history to be confirmed to an Article III
court.
As I've said many times, I look for three qualities in judicial
candidates: excellence, moderation, and diversity. When excellence and
moderation are both present in a candidate--as they are with Ms.
Brodie--diversity is a bonus: a bonus that benefits the bench, the
community, and Americans everywhere who might otherwise think that this
kind of public service, or even a law degree, was beyond their reach.
In fact, I think that a candidate like Ms. Brodie is especially well-
qualified for a lifetime appointment to the court.
She has chosen to make her home in this country, and in the
neighborhoods served by this court in the Eastern District of New
York--and she has already graced her community with outstanding and
dedicated service. In 1996, Ms. Brodie became a citizen of the United
States in the very court house where she would serve as a judge. I
can't think of a more fitting candidate to serve the people in
Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and all the communities in between than
someone who pledged her allegiance to this country just footsteps from
where she will uphold the rule of law in her chosen country.
Ms. Brodie's story is a classic immigrant's story--one that is born
from our country's finest and deepest traditions. It's a story that
speaks to our acceptance of people from all over the world who want to
come to the United States to work hard, prosper, and become a part of
our social fabric.
Ms. Brodie was born in St. John, Antigua. She and her brother Euan
were raised by a single mother, with the help of her mother's parents
and 14 siblings. After graduating from high school at the age of 16,
she attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn, where she worked full
time and graduated magna cum laude.
She went on to the University of Pennsylvania Law School. After
graduating from law school, Ms. Brodie worked for the New York City Law
Department for three years, where she learned how to litigate cases.
She then spent five years at Carter, Ledyard & Milburn, founded in 1854
and known for alums that include Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Ms. Brodie returned to public service in 1999 by joining the United
States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York, one of
the preeminent U.S. Attorney's offices in the Nation.
She rose to become Deputy Chief and then Chief of the General Crimes
Unit, where she trained more than half of the current AUSA's in the
Eastern District. Since 2010, she has been the deputy chief of the
Criminal Division, supervising all 100-plus criminal AUSAs in cases
involving public corruption, civil rights, business and securities
fraud, terrorism, organized crime, narcotics, and many other areas.
Ms. Brodie has also lent her considerable talents to training
prosecutors and law enforcement officers on the rule of law in many
developing countries. She spent 10 months in Nigeria as a legal advisor
on behalf of the DOJ's overseas training program, and has conducted and
assisted in human trafficking training for prosecutors in the Bahamas,
Jordan, Swaziland, and Tanzania.
In a short while, Ms. Brodie will be confirmed as a Federal judge--an
honor she deserves and a position that she has more than earned. I am
proud to have supported her nomination, and to vote for her today.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, have the yeas and nays been ordered?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. They have not.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a
sufficient second.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination
of Margo Kitsy Brodie, of New York, to be United States District Judge
for the Eastern District of New York.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant editor of the Daily Digest called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Harkin), the
Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye), the Senator from Louisiana (Ms.
Landrieu), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), the Senator
from Missouri (Mrs. McCaskill), and the Senator from Michigan (Ms.
Stabenow), are necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe), the
Senator from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), the Senator from Arizona (Mr.
McCain), the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Portman), and the Senator from
Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Hagan). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 86, nays 2, as follows:
[[Page S1041]]
[Rollcall Vote No. 23 Ex.]
YEAS--86
Akaka
Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Burr
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Durbin
Enzi
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagan
Hatch
Heller
Hoeven
Hutchison
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (SD)
Johnson (WI)
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Kyl
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lugar
Manchin
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Moran
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Paul
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Rockefeller
Rubio
Sanders
Schumer
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Snowe
Tester
Thune
Toomey
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NAYS--2
DeMint
Lee
NOT VOTING--12
Coburn
Harkin
Inhofe
Inouye
Kirk
Landrieu
Lautenberg
McCain
McCaskill
Portman
Stabenow
Vitter
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Hagan). Under the previous order, a
motion to reconsider is considered made and laid on the table. The
President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
____________________