[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 30, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2556-S2557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Vote on Bashant Nomination

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the question is, 
Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination of Cynthia Ann 
Bashant, of California, to be United States District Judge for the 
Southern District of California?
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to urge my colleagues to 
support the nomination of Judge Cynthia Bashant to the Federal district 
court in San Diego.
  As my colleagues know, I recommend candidates to the President 
through a bipartisan judicial selection process. Judge Bashant excelled 
in this process, earning my recommendation to President Obama.
  I am confident she will do an outstanding job on the Federal bench.
  She earned her bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1982 and her 
law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the 
Law in 1986.
  She spent 3 years practicing civil litigation at the law firm 
MacDonald Halsted & Layborne, which later became part of the firm Baker 
& McKenzie.
  In 1989, she joined the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego, where 
she tried at least 15 cases in Federal court.
  Judge Bashant served as deputy chief of the narcotics unit in San 
Diego from 1995 to 1997, and then as chief of the border crimes unit 
from 1997 to 1998.
  During her prosecutorial career, she prosecuted numerous important 
cases. One was a major drug trafficking case that involved: the Sinaloa 
drug cartel; a 1,600-foot tunnel under the southern border; 23 
defendants; and wiretaps in Chicago, San Antonio, Los Angeles, and San 
Diego.
  She prosecuted an individual who robbed more than 20 banks, a local 
record in San Diego at the time.
  Just after the Violence Against Women Act passed in 1994, Judge 
Bashant prosecuted the first Federal domestic violence case in the 
Southern District of California and one of the first in the Nation.
  The defendant was accused of luring his wife, who had just filed for 
divorce, into their car, after which he took her to Mexico against her 
will, beat her black and blue, and cut off all of her hair. The 
defendant pleaded guilty to violating a provision of VAWA designed to 
criminalize precisely this sort of conduct.
  In one of her other cases, the defendant was a human smuggler. To 
avoid a checkpoint, he led a large group of undocumented immigrants 
across the Interstate 5 freeway on foot. The group included a mother 
and her six children, ranging in age from 6 to 15 years old.
  The 6-year old boy was killed by oncoming traffic in front of his 
mother. The smuggler simply left the mother and her five other children 
by the side of the road.
  In preparation for trial, Judge Bashant met extensively with the 
mother, who understandably was distraught and afraid to testify. Judge 
Bashant and the mother's sister helped the mother be ready to testify 
against the smuggler.
  Ultimately, Judge Bashant secured a guilty plea from the defendant, 
and the court imposed several sentencing enhancements on him.
  For her work on this case, Judge Bashant won the Justice Department's 
Victim-Witness Award.
  She also won numerous other DOJ awards, including the Director's 
Award for Superior Performance and special commendations 6 years in a 
row.
  In 2000, Judge Bashant was appointed to the San Diego Superior Court.

[[Page S2557]]

  As a judge, she has presided over more than 1,000 cases that have 
gone to verdict or judgment--including more than 100 criminal jury 
trials.
  She has been a leader on the superior court, as well as in the San 
Diego community. Most recently, she was presiding judge of the Juvenile 
Court from 2009 to 2012.
  In 2012, the San Diego Juvenile Justice Commission named her Judge of 
the Year.
  She served as chair of the San Diego Commission on Children, Youth, 
and Families, which advises the county board of supervisors on issues 
affecting family well-being.
  She served on the San Diego County Child Abuse Prevention 
Coordinating Council as well.
  She also has served as president and currently serves on the advisory 
board of the Lawyers Club of San Diego--a highly respected organization 
that works to promote gender equality in the legal profession.
  She also has served on the board of the Children's Initiative of San 
Diego, which was established in 1992 to advocate for effective policies 
to support the health and well-being of children, youth, and families 
in San Diego.
  Simply put, Judge Bashant is a perfect fit for this position. She has 
experience in private practice. She spent 11 years as a Federal 
prosecutor in San Diego. She has been running her own courtroom for 13 
years.
  I have no doubt she will hit the ground running on the Southern 
District, which has the third-greatest criminal caseload per judgeship 
in the Nation.
  Beyond her qualifications and experience, Judge Bashant clearly is an 
outstanding woman and a real leader. As one of her judicial colleagues 
told my judicial selection committee, Judge Bashant is ``an energetic, 
smart, really impressive hard worker who `really cares.' ''
  So, I am very proud to have recommended Judge Bashant to the 
President, and I urge my colleagues to support her nomination.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Pryor) is 
necessarily absent.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman), the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. 
Cochran), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio), the Senator from 
Louisiana (Mr. Vitter), and the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker).
  The result was announced--yeas 94, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 122 Ex.]

                                YEAS--94

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Begich
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coats
     Coburn
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson (WI)
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Lee
     Levin
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Toomey
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Walsh
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Boozman
     Cochran
     Pryor
     Rubio
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the last rollcall vote will occur in a 
matter of a few seconds, and after that there will be a voice vote.
  The first series of votes tomorrow will be at 11:15 a.m. Starting at 
1:45 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, we will have up to four votes. If we are 
fortunate, there will only be two or three votes.
  This is the last vote tonight. We start at 11:15 a.m. tomorrow 
morning, and then at 1:45 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.