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



                  Nomination of Charles Esque Fleming

  Madam President, tomorrow, in addition to confirming Ms. Brennan, the 
Senate will consider the nominations of Charles Fleming and Federal 
Magistrate Judge David Ruiz, both of whom are nominated to also serve 
in the Northern District.
  Mr. Fleming is an assistant public defender, which is not always the 
route to being a Federal judge, but it is a key, key, key part of our 
judicial system. He is an assistant public defender in the Northern 
District, serving as trial team leader in the Northern District's 
largest public defender branch.
  A career public servant, Mr. Fleming has extensive trial experience 
in Federal court, having served as a Federal public defender for 30 
years. If confirmed, he would be the only Black man currently serving 
as an active-duty Federal district court judge for the Northern 
District.
  Mr. Fleming has received uniformly enthusiastic reviews from judges 
he has appeared before and from attorneys he has tried cases against. 
As a lead public defender, he takes on what his supervisor has 
described as the ``most difficult and challenging cases,'' as you can 
imagine. In his cases, he has always displayed exceptional empathy not 
only toward clients but also toward the victims of crime. One story 
illustrates his character well.
  He was representing an individual charged with committing a violent 
crime. According to the judge, when making his arguments for what he 
believed was a fair sentence for his client, Mr. Fleming turned and 
faced the victim and her family. The judge said Mr. Fleming didn't 
alter his arguments, but he wanted to accord the victim and her family 
the dignity of hearing directly from him, the public defender.
  That is the kind of empathy and respect we need on the bench. I urge 
my colleagues to join me in supporting his nomination.