[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 11, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3600-S3601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            LAUCK NOMINATION

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I wish to speak in support of a fellow 
Virginian as President Obama's nominee to the U.S. District Court for 
the Eastern District of Virginia, Judge Hannah Lauck. When confirmed, 
Hannah will become the first woman judge on the Federal trial bench in 
Richmond, VA.
  Hannah is exceptionally well qualified to carry out the duties and 
responsibilities of a Federal district judge.
  Hannah earned her bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, in 1986 from 
Wellesley College, where she was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
  She went on to receive her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1991. While 
in law school she directed the Homelessness Clinic and served on the 
board of the Initiative for Public Interest Law.
  Hannah began her legal career in the Eastern District of Virginia 
serving as a clerk for Judge James Spencer. Judge Spencer--a Reagan 
appointee to the bench--is extremely well-regarded in Richmond for his 
legal acumen, honest nature, and service to the community and will be 
taking senior status this year.
  Coming full circle, Hannah has now been selected to fill the seat of 
Judge Spencer, her mentor and for whom she clerked right out of law 
school.
  From 1994 to 2004, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the 
Eastern District of Virginia where she handled both civil defense 
matters as well as criminal prosecutions.
  Following a brief stint in the private sector, Hannah became a U.S. 
Magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, where she has 
served since 2005.
  As a magistrate judge, she helped begin one of the first Federal 
reentry courts, which is designed to reduce recidivism of individuals 
released from prison who have serious addictions. These reentry courts 
are crucial to our

[[Page S3601]]

efforts to reduce prison overcrowding and ensure we are helping people 
who have made mistakes in life become productive members of society.
  She is also an active member of her community where she has helped 
train the next generation of legal experts. For many years, she has 
taught at the University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law.
  Hannah serves on the board of the Federal Bar Association and is an 
active member and former board member of the Richmond Bar Association 
and the Metropolitan Richmond Women's Bar Association.
  She comes highly recommended by the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia 
Bar Association, has been recognized as one of Virginia's leaders in 
the Law and has received the strong support of many of her legal 
colleagues.
  Hannah has an exemplary record as a prosecutor and a magistrate judge 
and all of her peers praise her character and integrity. I am pleased 
to strongly support her nomination to the Federal bench and thank all 
of you for joining me in supporting her nomination. This body, and our 
Nation, will all be well served by her presence on this court.

                          ____________________