[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 196 (Wednesday, November 29, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Micah W.J. Smith

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm 
Micah Smith to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.
  Mr. Smith attended Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and Harvard 
Law School before completing two prestigious clerkships--first, for 
Judge Guido Calabresi on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and, 
later, for Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court.
  He then entered private practice and focused on complex civil 
litigation, including intellectual property, labor law, product 
liability, and the False Claims Act. In 2012, Mr. Smith joined the U.S. 
Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York as an assistant 
U.S. attorney in the office's criminal division. As a line prosecutor, 
he handled cases including racketeering, murder-for-hire, drug 
trafficking, tax fraud, and money laundering. For 2 years, he also 
supervised 20 line prosecutors in the office's violent and organized 
crime unit. Mr. Smith is now a Federal prosecutor in the U.S. 
Attorney's Office for the District of Hawaii and currently serves as 
the deputy chief of the office's criminal division, as the criminal 
civil rights coordinator, and as the chief of appeals and legal 
strategy. Throughout the course of his career, he has tried 10 cases to 
verdict.
  The American Bar Association unanimously rated Mr. Smith ``well 
qualified'' to serve on the district court. Senators Schatz and Hirono 
recommended him to the White House and strongly support his nomination.
  Mr. Smith is a seasoned practitioner with significant litigation 
experience in federal court, and he will be an asset to the District of 
Hawaii. I will be supporting this outstanding nominee, and I urge my 
colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. I yield the floor.