[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 118 (Tuesday, July 11, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2300-S2301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



   Nominations of Tiffany M. Cartwright and Kymberly Kathryn Evanson

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to urge my 
colleagues to confirm two excellent judicial nominees to the U.S. 
District Court for the Western District of Washington: Tiffany 
Cartwright, whom President Biden first nominated well over a year ago, 
and Kimberly Evanson, also nominated last year.
  I am proud to say I recommended both of these women after they were 
vetted and endorsed by a nonpartisan judicial merit selection committee 
made up of Democratic and Republican legal experts. In fact, since 
2021, the Senate has confirmed five judges to the Western District, 
each of whom were strongly supported by the same committee. And with 
Ms. Cartwright and Ms. Evanson, it is clear to me they have done it 
again.
  These are two incredibly well-qualified nominees, with records which 
show they have an expert understanding of our laws, a passion for 
justice and fairness for everyone, and an appreciation for how their 
decisions will affect the lives of people across Washington State.
  Tiffany Cartwright grew up in Kitsap County in Washington and 
received her law degree from Stanford University. She has clerked on 
both the Alaska Supreme Court for Justice Dana Fabe and the Ninth 
Circuit Court of Appeals for Justice Betty B. Fletcher, and today she 
is a partner at a leading civil rights firm in the Pacific Northwest.
  As a trial lawyer in Seattle, Ms. Cartwright has established herself 
as a preeminent civil rights attorney, dedicated to ensuring our laws 
are faithfully executed on behalf of the people they are meant to 
defend. She has represented employees who faced discrimination in the 
workplace, farmworkers who were denied the overtime they had earned, 
voters seeking to ensure that their vote was counted, and the families 
of victims of police misconduct.
  She has argued cases in State and Federal court, including before the 
Washington Supreme Court, and also has earned the support of law 
enforcement officers, including a Washington State corrections officer, 
an ATF special agent, both of whom spoke to her dedication to their 
cases and her commitment to justice.
  For 6 years, Ms. Cartwright also served on the local Rules Committee 
of the Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Washington, 
offering her unique expertise to consider some of the region's 
thorniest legal issues.
  She also served on the board of directors for Legal Voice, an 
organization that is focused on women's rights.
  Ms. Cartwright is a tested and proven civil rights attorney, with 
extensive Federal court experience and a track record of seeking 
justice for people who have faced discrimination, police misconduct, 
and more. Importantly, she is someone who will apply the law fairly and 
impartially and will make an excellent addition to the bench in 
Washington State, as will Kimberly Evanson.
  Ms. Evanson was raised by two Washington State public school teachers 
and has dedicated her career to serving the State.
  After attending law school in Georgetown and clerking for Judge Emmet 
Sullivan on the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, she 
returned home to Washington State where she has practiced law for many 
years with distinction.
  Throughout her career, Ms. Evanson has earned the respect of her 
peers and her opposing counsel through her work on cases of public 
importance.
  As a partner at Pacifica Law Group, she has represented State, 
municipal, private, and nonprofit clients on a range of complicated 
legal issues.
  In her work in Seattle, she regularly advises clients on 
constitutional and statutory questions around the First Amendment, 
complaints under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and more, not to 
mention her pro bono work. She has lent her time, services, and 
expertise to the Seattle Clemency Project and the Western District of 
Washington's Federal Civil Rights Legal Clinic to provide legal counsel 
in cases involving access to justice, employment discrimination, 
housing discrimination, and more.
  The ABA has rated her ``well-qualified,'' and it is easy to see why. 
She has shown she has the expertise to work through the most 
complicated legal matters and the compassion to understand the stakes 
of these matters for people's everyday lives, all of which will serve 
her and the people of Washington State well on the bench of the Western 
District.
  The people of Washington State deserve a court system that delivers 
justice for everyone, not just the powerful and well connected. They 
deserve judges who will carefully review each case on the merits and 
show respect for the law and everyone who appears before them. Based on 
their records of service in my State, I believe those are exactly the 
kind of judges that Ms. Cartwright and Ms. Evanson will be.
  These appointments are well-deserved, and confirmation is well 
overdue. So I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for these highly 
qualified nominees. And I was pleased to see that both of them received 
bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee. I hope to see that 
continue here on the Senate floor.
  I yield the floor.

[[Page S2301]]

  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I am pretty sure I am joining my 
colleague from Washington, who probably just spoke on the same subject, 
but I come to the floor to support the nominations of two very 
exceptional nominees to serve as judges for the U.S. District Court for 
the Western District of Washington.
  Kimberly Evanson, born and raised in our State, grew up in Grays 
Harbor County before attending Tacoma High School in Tacoma. She 
attended Seattle University and went on to graduate from Georgetown 
University Law Center.
  Nearly her entire legal career has been spent in the Western District 
of Washington and the district in which she will serve, if confirmed. 
She has nearly 15 years of experience with constitutional and Federal 
law procedure, making her--as the American Bar Association said--
``well-qualified'' for the Federal bench.
  Ms. Evanson has dedicated her free time to supporting her community 
through volunteer work, and since 2013, she has been a regular 
volunteer with the Western District of Washington's Federal Civil 
Rights Legal Clinic. There, she provides legal advice to King and 
Pierce County residents who face employment discrimination, disability, 
housing, prison misconduct, and excessive force claims.
  Ms. Evanson's commitment to ensuring legal services and counsel is 
available to all, regardless of income, shows her dedication to a fair 
and inclusive justice system.
  I urge my colleagues to confirm Ms. Evanson to the U.S. District 
Court for the Western District of Washington without delay.
  I also want to urge my colleagues to vote to confirm Tiffany 
Cartwright for the Western District of Washington. This is a historic 
nomination. If confirmed, Ms. Cartwright would be the first woman to 
serve as Federal district judge from the Tacoma courthouse.
  Ms. Cartwright is a proud Washingtonian who grew up in Kitsap County 
and attended Central Kitsap High School. She went on to earn a bachelor 
of arts from Stanford University in 2007 and a juris doctorate from 
Stanford Law School.
  Ms. Cartwright is extremely experienced in our court system. She has 
served as a law clerk in the Alaska State Supreme Court and has served 
as a Federal law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
Circuit.
  Ms. Cartwright currently serves as a civil rights attorney in 
Seattle, where her practice focuses on police misconduct and gender 
discrimination. In addition to her work as a civil rights attorney, Ms. 
Cartwright serves on the Local Rules Committee for the Federal Bar 
Association.
  Ms. Cartwright has made it a priority to improve the accessibility of 
the courts. In her free time, she has served as pro bono counsel for 
cases involving women's and LGBTQ+ rights. And at the Seattle law firm 
where she works, she has developed a successful fellowship program to 
draw a diverse range of applicants to the firm and help reduce bias in 
the workforce.
  A real champion for her community and civil rights, she would make an 
outstanding addition to the district court in the Western District of 
Washington. And again, I urge my colleagues to vote to confirm Tiffany 
Cartwright for the Western District of Washington.
  I yield the floor.