[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 19 (Monday, January 31, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S400-S401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of David Augustin Ruiz

  Madam President, the third judge, David Ruiz, has served as a Federal 
magistrate judge in the Northern District for 5 years. Before that, he 
served for 16 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern 
District and as a private practitioner.
  As an assistant U.S. attorney and in private practice, he took on a 
wide spectrum of cases. Those who worked with him praised his 
temperament and his intellect and described him as ``unflappable.'' 
However, perhaps Judge Ruiz's most powerful endorsement came from the 
judges who are already seated in the Northern District who selected him 
to serve as one of their magistrate judges. They selected Judge Ruiz to 
oversee groundbreaking, multimillion-dollar, multidistrict litigation 
involving the manufacturers and distributors of opioids, which have 
done huge damage to families and communities across our State.
  He is also poised to make history as the first Latino district judge 
ever to sit in the Northern District. If this body concurs, as the 
Judiciary Committee did, he will become Ohio's first ever Latino 
Federal judge. He is the grandson of immigrants. He is a descendant of 
migrant farmworkers who picked fruit in the fields of Texas and 
Michigan to provide better lives for their families. Judge Ruiz's 
success embodies the American dream of generations of immigrants.
  Finally, I want to thank publicly, in this forum, all of the members 
of the bipartisan commission who recommended these nominees to Senator 
Portman and me.
  When I first came to the Senate, Senator Voinovich and I established 
this bipartisan commission process to help identify the best candidates 
for these important jobs. I am proud of the work that we have done with 
Senator Portman to continue that tradition through Presidents of both 
parties.
  The members took considerable time out of their busy schedules to 
identify and interview potential candidates. They undertook this task 
to ensure that the people living in the Northern District had access to 
justice and a bench that looks like the people they serve. This is by 
far the most diverse set of U.S. attorneys, U.S. Marshals, and U.S. 
Federal judges we have had ever in my State.
  I thank the members of the commission for their work. I would 
particularly like to mention my representatives on this commission: 
Mohamed Al-Hamdani, Paul Demarco, Barbara Doseck, Dennis Eckart, Kayla 
Griffin, Jacqueline Johnson, Barbara Lum, Carole Rendon, Carter 
Stewart, and Margaret Wong. I want to especially thank the chair of our 
commission, Joyce Goldstein, who put so much effort and time into this 
and who put so much energy into ensuring this effort was a success. The 
Northern District of Ohio is better off because of their work.
  Dr. King wrote: ``[P]rogress never rolls in on wheels of 
inevitability.'' Each of these nominees will serve as wheels of 
progress for our State and for our country. I don't make predictions in 
politics often, but I am certain that every Member of this body, 
Republican and Democrat, who votes for these three judges will always 
be glad that they did.
  I urge my colleagues to vote yes so that they can get to work 
immediately serving the people of my great State.


                          judicial nominations

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, this week, the Senate will consider 
three judicial nominees for the Northern District of Ohio.
  Before I speak on the nominees themselves, I would like to commend 
Senators Brown and Portman for working across the aisle to develop a 
bipartisan selection process.
  All three of these nominees were recommended to the White House 
through a judicial commission that Senators Brown and Portman 
established.
  As Senator Portman noted at our hearing on these nominees, the 
members of the bipartisan screening commission committed significant 
time and effort to ensure that they recommended well-qualified 
candidates for the bench.
  As a result of that process, we will soon vote on three distinguished 
nominees.
  The first nominee to the Northern District of Ohio is Bridget 
Brennan.
  For almost 15 years, Ms. Brennan has served as a prosecutor, rising 
through the ranks of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern 
District of Ohio.
  Last year, as a testament to her skills and leadership, she was named 
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
  Ms. Brennan has a wide breadth of experience, having led her office's 
Civil Rights and Criminal Divisions.
  She has received a ``Qualified'' rating from the American Bar 
Association, has the strong support of Senators Brown and Portman, and 
received a bipartisan vote in the Judiciary Committee.
  Ms. Brennan has demonstrated a commitment to justice, integrity, and 
the rule of law, all of which will serve her well as a district court 
judge.
  We also will be considering Charles Fleming, another highly qualified 
nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
  Mr. Fleming is an experienced litigator who has demonstrated a 
decades-long commitment to ensuring equal justice under the law. He has 
earned degrees from Kent State University and Case Western Reserve 
University Law School. After graduating, he spent a year working in 
private practice before dedicating his career to public service.
  For more than three decades, Mr. Fleming has worked as an Assistant 
Federal Public Defender in the Northern District of Ohio. During this 
time, he has tried 17 cases to verdict and has gained a truly 
remarkable breadth of courtroom experience.
  As I noted, Mr. Fleming has the strong support of Senators Brown and 
Portman. He received a bipartisan vote in the Judiciary Committee. He 
also has received a ``Well Qualified'' rating from the American Bar 
Association.
  He is clearly committed to maintaining a fair, respectful temperament 
in his courtroom and will decide cases based on the law, the facts, and 
precedent--not on his preferred outcome. He will make an excellent 
addition to the District Court.
  Finally, we have David Ruiz. For more than 5 years, Judge Ruiz has 
served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Ohio. In 
this role, he has presided over more than 80 cases that have gone to 
verdict or judgment.
  Prior to assuming the bench, Judge Ruiz served as an Assistant U.S. 
Attorney for several years. And before that, he spent 10 years as a 
litigator in private practice.

[[Page S401]]

  Judge Ruiz received his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State 
University and his law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz 
College of Law. And he received a unanimous ``Well Qualified'' rating 
from the American Bar Association.
  As I mentioned at the outset, Judge Ruiz has the strong, bipartisan 
support of Senators Brown and Portman.
  He also received bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee--with 
Ranking Member Grassley, Senator Graham, and Senator Tillis joining 
with Democratic members to support his nomination.
  Senator Portman stated that Judge Ruiz's ``experience, temperament, 
and high ethical standards have served him well as a federal magistrate 
judge'' and ``make him well-qualified to continue serving the Northern 
District of Ohio as a federal judge.''
  Once confirmed, he will be the first person of Hispanic origin to 
serve as an article III Federal judge in Ohio's history.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting all three of these 
outstanding nominees.
  Mr. BROWN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.