[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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