[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 25, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2697-S2698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Judicial Nominations
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this week, the Senate continues the
important work of confirming highly qualified, diverse nominees to the
Federal Judiciary. Working closely with Senate Democrats, the Biden
administration has prioritized the selection of judicial nominees who
are faithful to the rule of law, who are evenhanded and impartial, and
who understand the critical distinction between being an advocate and
being a judge. And together, we are building a Federal judiciary that
is more representative of the Nation as a whole, both in terms of
demographic and professional diversity. The five nominees under
consideration by the Senate this week are no exception, and I want to
speak briefly on each of them.
Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Judge Stephanie Davis to the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Since 2019, Judge Davis has
served as a U.S. District Court Judge in the Eastern District of
Michigan. She was nominated for the District Court by President Trump.
And she was voted out of the Judiciary Committee by voice vote and
confirmed by voice vote as well.
Prior to serving on the District Court, Judge Davis served as a U.S.
magistrate judge for approximately 3 years, also in the Eastern
District of Michigan. In total, Judge Davis has served as a Federal
judge for more than 6 years. Before assuming the bench, Judge Davis was
an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Eastern District of Michigan for nearly two decades. During her last 5
years in the U.S. Attorney's Office, she served as the Executive
Assistant U.S. Attorney. She also spent 3 years as the deputy chief of
the Controlled Substances Unit. While serving as a Federal prosecutor,
Judge Davis prosecuted elder fraud cases, served on a committee that
addressed a backlog of untested rape kits, and led one of the earliest
prosecutions combating the opioid epidemic in the Eastern District of
Michigan. Judge Davis also spent 5 years in private practice. During
this time, she volunteered with the Women's Justice Center, helping
victims of domestic violence obtain personal protection orders.
Born in Kansas City, MO, Judge Davis earned her college degree from
Wichita State University and her law degree from Washington University
School of Law.
Judge Davis has been unanimously rated ``Well Qualified'' for the
Sixth Circuit by the American Bar Association, and she has the strong
support of her two home State Senators, Ms. Stabenow and Mr. Peters.
Once sworn in, Judge Davis will be the first Black woman from
Michigan to serve on the Sixth Circuit--and only the second ever Black
woman to serve on the court.
With Judge Davis's extensive experience as a judge, a prosecutor, and
a litigator in private practice, as well as her decades-long commitment
to public service, she is clearly well qualified to serve on the Sixth
Circuit.
This morning, the Senate also confirmed the nomination of Evelyn
Padin to the District of New Jersey. A native of New Jersey, Ms. Padin
received her B.A. from Rutgers University, her M.S.W. from Fordham
University Graduate School of Social Services, her certificate in
European legal studies from Tulane University, and her J.D. from Seton
Hall Law School. Since graduating from law school, Ms. Padin has spent
nearly three decades practicing law.
In 1995, Ms. Padin opened her own law firm, and she has appeared
regularly in both State and Federal courts ever since. She has tried
approximately 10 jury trials to verdict, judgment, or final decision.
In addition to her lengthy career as a litigator, Ms. Padin also has
judicial experience, having served as a municipal court judge for the
Jersey City Municipal Court. In this role, she presided over nearly
3,000 cases--all bench trials--that went to verdict or judgment,
primarily involving minor criminal-type offenses, traffic violations,
and municipal ordinance offenses.
Outside the courtroom, Ms. Padin has been active in the legal
community. She was the first Latina to serve as the president of the
New Jersey State Bar Association. In that role, she worked to improve
access to justice in New Jersey, including by starting legal clinics to
serve the economically disadvantaged.
Ms. Padin received a ``Qualified'' rating from the American Bar
Association and has the strong support of her home State Senators, Mr.
Menendez and Mr. Booker. Ms. Padin's years of experience with New
Jersey's legal system, coupled with her broad legal expertise, make her
well-suited to serve on the Federal bench.
And the Senate also confirmed the nomination of Charlotte Sweeney to
the District of Colorado. Ms. Sweeney is a trial litigator who has
spent over 26 years defending the employment rights of Americans who
have faced discrimination or harassment--based on their race, national
origin, gender, age, or disability--in the workplace. Practicing
primarily in Federal court, she has tried more than 20 cases to verdict
or judgment.
Through her work, Ms. Sweeney has earned a reputation for integrity
and fairmindedness, both from her peers and from those before whom she
has practiced. Twenty-six attorneys who regularly work as opposing
counsel to Ms. Sweeney have offered their ``strong support'' of her
nomination, writing that she ``will be an impartial, prepared, and
reasoned jurist.'' Similarly, 17 former judges and employment lawyers
who have acted as settlement or arbitration proceeding neutrals have
also endorsed her nomination. Based on Ms. Sweeney's advocacy before
them, they believe she ``will make an exceptional district court
judge.''
With so much support from the Colorado legal community and as a
Colorado native herself, it is no surprise that Ms. Sweeney has the
strong support of her home State Senators, Mr. Bennet and Mr.
Hickenlooper, or that she was rated ``Well Qualified'' by the American
Bar Association.
Additionally, Ms. Sweeney will advance President Biden's commitment
to ensuring the Federal judiciary reflects the country it serves. She
will be the first openly LGBTQ article III judge in Colorado and the
first openly LGBTQ woman to serve as a Federal district court judge in
any State west of the Mississippi.
The Senate is also considering Nina Morrison, nominated to the
Eastern District of New York. Ms. Morrison attended Yale College and
New York University Law School before clerking for Judge Pierre N.
Leval on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. She then worked in
private practice and at the American Civil Liberties Union before
joining the Innocence Project.
Ms. Morrison is now one of the most senior attorneys at the Innocence
Project, where she works to exonerate wrongfully imprisoned individuals
by petitioning for access to DNA evidence and other post-conviction
relief. Thanks to Ms. Morrison's efforts, nearly 30 wrongfully
convicted individuals in more than 10 States have been freed from
prison or death row. In addition, her work has helped to correctly
identify the perpetrators of violent crimes, delivering justice to both
their victims and to those who have been wrongfully imprisoned.
Ms. Morrison is a seasoned litigator who has practiced in State and
Federal courts all across the country. The American Bar Association
unanimously rated her ``Well Qualified'' to serve as a district judge,
and she has the strong support of both of her home State Senators, Mr.
Schumer and Mrs. Gillibrand.
Ms. Morrison has dedicated her career to ensuring that our justice
system lives up to America's ideals. Her dedication, breadth of
experience, and unique perspective will make her an asset to the
Eastern District of New York.
Finally, the Senate will consider Robert Huie, nominated to the
Southern District of California. Mr. Huie is an accomplished litigator
who previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S.
Attorney's Office for the district to which he has been nominated.
Notably, he was counsel of
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record in more than 600 district court cases and was lead appellate
counsel in approximately two dozen appeals.
After leaving the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Huie went into private
practice, where he is currently Of Counsel in the San Diego office of
Jones Day and a leader in the firm's Investigations and White Collar
Defense Practice. He is also the San Diego office's pro bono
coordinator and chair of the diversity and inclusion committee. A
graduate of Yale Law School and a lawyer with extensive criminal and
civil experience, Huie is well-positioned to join the Federal bench. He
has tried 22 cases--both jury and nonjury--to verdict, judgment, or
final decision.
Mr. Huie has the strong support of Senators Feinstein and Padilla,
and he was rated unanimously ``Well Qualified'' by the American Bar
Association. His legal work both in and out of the courtroom, coupled
with his decades-long career serving the Southern District of
California, make him an outstanding nominee.
I am pleased that three of these nominees received bipartisan
confirmation votes and another nominee has already received a
bipartisan cloture vote. And I urge my colleagues to join me in
supporting those nominations that have not yet come up for a vote.
With their records, experience, and evenhanded approach, all of these
nominees will be ready on day one to serve this Nation as Federal
judges.
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