[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 177 (Wednesday, November 1, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6937-S6938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NOMINATION OF JOAN LARSEN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday, when the Senate confirmed 
the nomination of Professor Amy Barrett to the Seventh Circuit Court of 
Appeals, we took another important step to ensure that the Federal 
judiciary fulfills its role in our constitutional system. Now we have 
an opportunity to confirm another well-qualified woman to the bench, 
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Joan Larsen. President Trump nominated 
her to serve on the Sixth Circuit, and she will be a strong addition to 
that court and a benefit to our Nation.
  After graduating first in her class from Northwestern's law school, 
Justice Larsen served as a law clerk for Judge David Sentelle of the DC 
Circuit Court and then for Justice Antonin Scalia. These clerkships 
honed Justice Larsen's legal abilities and respect for

[[Page S6938]]

the rule of law, preparing her for a distinguished career.
  Joan Larsen also served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in 
the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. Former government 
officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations wrote in 
strong support of her nomination, each of them holding her in the 
highest regard.
  Joan Larsen later joined the law faculty at the University of 
Michigan, teaching there for many years. She excelled in academia, 
earning the praise of her students and the esteem of her colleagues. In 
fact, more than 30 of Michigan's deans and law professors wrote to 
support her nomination. They wrote that Justice Larsen's ``commitment 
to the rule of law and her capacity for top-flight legal analysis are 
both of the first order, and her personal integrity and decency are 
exceptional.'' Even when they disagreed, her colleagues praised Justice 
Larsen's generous manner, her personal integrity, as well as her legal 
acumen.
  In 2015, Larsen was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court. The next 
year, she won election to a full term, winning every single county in 
the State. Her fellow justices--even those with different ideologies--
praised her intellect and her commitment to apply the law as it is 
written to every case before them.
  Joan Larsen's time on the Michigan high court has shown a record of 
independence and of fairness. Here is how one practitioner put it in a 
letter to the Judiciary Committee: ``I am not a Republican,'' he wrote. 
``Justice Larsen approaches cases with an open mind and an independence 
from party affiliation. . . . I believe that . . . Justice Larsen has 
had a very positive influence on the Michigan Supreme Court. In my 
view, she would be a deserving addition to the Sixth Circuit Court of 
Appeals.''
  Another lawyer wrote the committee, advising that he ``has practiced 
law in Michigan for 39 years'' and is ``a past president of the 
Michigan Association for Justice (formerly the Michigan Trial Lawyers 
Association).'' He goes on to say that Justice Larsen ``has 
demonstrated on the bench that she is precisely who she is in person, a 
genuine, thoughtful individual who respects precedent, the common law 
and the role that lawyers and judges play in society. . . . I have no 
hesitation in telling you that Justice Larsen will make an excellent 
judge on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.''
  In conclusion, President Trump continues to nominate smart, well-
qualified, and impartial individuals to our Nation's Federal courts. 
Justice Larsen, like each of the other nominees before her, was 
nominated on the basis of her belief in the rule of law and her 
commitment to apply the law fairly to everyone who enters her 
courtroom.
  Once again, I would also like to thank Chairman Chuck Grassley for 
his leadership on the Judiciary Committee, tirelessly working to bring 
the President's nominees to the floor.
  I look forward to voting to confirm Joan Larsen today, and I urge all 
of my colleagues to join me.

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