[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 16, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S1216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of Julie Rebecca Rubin

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the 
confirmation of Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Julie Rubin to be a 
U.S. district judge for the District of Maryland. I recommended Judge 
Rubin, along with Senator Van Hollen, to President Biden, and we 
strongly support her nomination.
  Judge Rubin has been nominated to fill the vacancy created when Judge 
Ellen Hollander, appointed by President Obama in 2011, announced her 
intentions to take senior status.
  President Biden nominated Judge Rubin for this position on December 3 
of last year, and the Judiciary Committee held her confirmation hearing 
on December 15. Judge Rubin was favorably reported by the Judiciary 
Committee on January 20 of this year by a bipartisan vote.
  She received a unanimous ``well qualified'' rating from the American 
Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which is 
the organization's highest rating. The ABA assesses the nominee's 
professional competency, integrity, and judicial temperament.
  Shortly after the November 2020 Presidential elections, I worked with 
Senator Van Hollen to establish the judicial selection committee in 
Maryland. We used an open application process with public advertisement 
and communicated closely with State, local, and specialty bar 
associations in Maryland. In particular, we sought out highly qualified 
and diverse applicants. Our committee interviewed everyone who 
submitted an application, which involved several dozen interviews. 
Senator Van Hollen and I personally interviewed several finalists 
before recommending names to the White House.
  Born in Baltimore, Judge Rubin received her B.A. cum laude from Mount 
Holyoke College in 1995 and her J.D. from the University of Maryland 
School of Law in 1998.
  She worked at Astrachan Gunst, handling intellectual property and 
employment law matters in both Federal and State court.
  Judge Rubin was appointed by the Governor of Maryland in 2012 as a 
Baltimore City circuit judge and was elected in 2014 by the people of 
Baltimore to a 15-year term.
  The circuit court is the State trial court of general jurisdiction in 
Maryland, covering both civil and criminal cases, and is the exclusive 
court for jury trials, including felony trials--similar jurisdiction to 
what the Federal district court handles. So she has that experience.
  Judge Rubin brings tremendous experience to the courtroom as a 
sitting Baltimore City circuit judge for nearly a decade. She has 
handled a substantial and diverse caseload in our State court in 
Baltimore, having served in the civil, family, criminal, and general 
trial divisions, as well as serving on special assignments to the 
asbestos docket. She previously served as a supervisory judge of 
alternative dispute resolutions. She estimates that she has presided 
over about 1,000 criminal and civil cases that have gone to verdict or 
judgment, including both bench and jury trials.
  Judge Rubin is known as a judge's judge, in terms of her excellent 
temperament, work ethic, and congeniality with lawyers and litigants. 
She is known to be fair in judgment to all litigants. She was selected 
to serve as a faculty member of the Judicial College and tasked with 
instructing newly appointed Maryland trial judges on judicial ethics 
and best courtroom practices.
  Judge Rubin has continued to give back to the community as an adjunct 
legal professor at the Maryland Law School. She cochaired the Bench Bar 
Committee of the Bar Association of Baltimore City, served on the board 
of the Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter of the Simon E. Sobeloff Law 
Society, and assisted the CollegeBound Foundation and the Baltimore 
Education Scholarship Trust to help underprivileged or at-risk youth. 
She has served as chair of the board of trustees for the Bryn Mawr 
School in Baltimore. She has given back to our community and 
understands the challenges in our community.
  As a fellow graduate of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey 
Law School, I am confident that Judge Rubin will meet the highest 
standards of integrity, competence, and temperament. I know she will 
uphold the rule of law for all Marylanders for this lifetime 
appointment.
  Finally, let me say that I know that public service is a sacrifice, 
not only for the nominee but for their family. So I want to thank Judge 
Rubin's husband James and her entire family for sharing Judge Rubin 
with the people of Maryland.
  Judge Rubin's confirmation will build on the quality and diversity of 
the Maryland District Court bench. All 10 of the confirmed judges have 
been recommended by me to the President for appointment as a Senator 
from Maryland. I am proud of their qualifications and diversity.
  In Maryland, our Federal bench is 50 percent women, 50 percent men, 
40 percent people of color. We appointed the first African-American 
woman, the first person of Palestinian descent. We have a diversified, 
quality bench representing the people of Maryland and providing the 
justice the people of Maryland deserve.
  I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the confirmation of Judge 
Julie Rubin to be a U.S. district judge for the District of Maryland.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________