[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 16, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1200-S1201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Supreme Court Nomination

  Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to speak on behalf of a few 
Federal judge nominees from the State of California.
  In recognizing that, right now, many Americans are certainly 
following the news and the potential news of the Federal judiciary and 
are focusing on a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. As a member of 
the Judiciary Committee, I certainly look forward to hearing more from 
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson next week as we conduct her confirmation 
hearing.
  The choices for the Supreme Court are certainly critical for the 
future of our democracy, but the fact of the matter is--and the 
Presiding Officer knows I like numbers and knows I like data. So the 
important data point here is that it is only a tiny percentage of cases 
in our Federal court system that actually reach the U.S. Supreme Court. 
In fact, more than 90 percent of the Federal cases are decided at the 
district court level. That means the vast majority of people who 
interface with the Federal judiciary will only ever meet a district 
court judge, sitting on the other side of the bench, whether

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they are witnesses to a crime, whether they are parties to a lawsuit or 
defendants in a criminal case.
  That is one of the primary reasons I have worked so closely with the 
Biden administration in helping to identify and recommend and support 
talented nominees for California's district courts.
  Today, I rise to highlight three nominees to serve as Federal judges 
whose confirmation processes we are beginning today.