[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S56-S57]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of S. Kato Crews

  Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I am delighted the Presiding Officer is in 
the Chair for this conversation about Judge Kato Crews.
  Today, I rise in strong support of President Biden's nominee for the 
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Judge Kato Crews.
  Judge Crews is a true son of Colorado. He was born in Pueblo, in the 
high desert, in the southern part of our State. His family didn't have 
a lot while he was growing up, but his parents worked hard and always 
put their kids first.
  Since he was in middle school, Judge Crews knew he wanted to become a 
lawyer. His dad was a solo practitioner in Pueblo, and although Judge 
Crews didn't really know what his father did for work, he knew that he 
was helping people and that he had the respect of the community.
  Judge Crews attended public high school in Rye, CO, which is a small 
town in the San Isabel foothills, where he was the only African-
American male in his entire school. He earned a B.A. from the 
University of Northern Colorado and then a J.D. from the University of 
Arizona, where he served on the law review, where he made the dean's 
list, and offered pro bono services to survivors of domestic violence.
  After law school, Judge Crews returned to Colorado to serve as an 
attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, where he investigated 
and prosecuted charges of unfair labor practices.
  He spent the next 17 years after that in private practice--first at a 
large firm in Denver, where he made partner, and later at a smaller 
firm that he founded with colleagues. In private practice, Judge Crews 
focused on civil litigation and employment law, representing both 
workers and employers. He tried approximately 18 cases before Federal 
courts, State courts, and administrative agencies, serving as chief or 
sole counsel in jury trials, bench trials, and administrative 
proceedings.
  For the last 5 years, he has served as a magistrate judge for the 
Federal District of Colorado. In this role, he has performed most tasks 
expected of a district court judge on the Federal bench, from handling 
evidentiary proceedings to all matters before, during, and after trial.
  During his time on the bench, Judge Crews saw how pro se litigants 
often struggled to advocate for themselves. He also saw younger lawyers 
who were eager for courtroom experience. So he founded a program to 
connect the two, giving young lawyers in Colorado, for the first time, 
valuable time in court and pro se litigants free help to navigate 
certain proceedings that these young lawyers were capable of handling.
  That is just one example of Judge Crews going the extra mile and of 
his commitment to making the legal system more accessible--a lifelong 
commitment to making the legal system more accessible to litigants, to 
future lawyers, and to the community it serves, most importantly.
  As Colorado's first African-American magistrate, Judge Crews spends 
as much time as he can in the community by serving on nonprofit boards, 
mentoring students, and using the power of his example to help young 
Coloradans imagine a career in law for themselves. Former mentors and 
colleagues all describe Judge Crews as a true public servant who works 
hard, who never loses his poise, and who never forgets where he came 
from. He is one of the most accessible judges on the bench in our 
State, and he knows the law as well as anyone.
  Judge Crews knows what it means to try a case as a litigator and to 
preside over one as a judge. He has practiced law for the government 
and for firms both large and small. He has tried cases from the 
perspectives of employees and employers, for clients with a lot of 
money and resources and for clients with none at all.
  If confirmed, Judge Crews will follow in the footsteps of Judge 
Moore, who has taken senior status, to become the only African-American 
judge on the district court. Judge Crews will become the only district 
court judge born and raised in Pueblo, CO, and that means something to 
me and to the Presiding Officer, bringing a really importantly 
perspective to the bench from a critical but sometimes overlooked part 
of our State.
  With his experience, with his intellect, and with his character, 
Judge Crews will make a remarkable addition to Colorado's district 
court, and I urge my colleagues to confirm, this morning, Judge Crews 
with a strong bipartisan vote.
  I would say, before I surrender the floor to my colleague from 
Colorado, what an extraordinary job he has done in providing leadership 
to the selection of these judges and to the nominations of these judges 
for President Biden to consider. It is extraordinary. We have had a 
number of vacancies on the district court, and we have worked very hard 
together to make sure those vacancies are filled in as expeditious a 
way as possible--in fact, I would argue, probably more expeditiously 
than any other Federal district court in the country. That would not 
have happened without the leadership of Senator Hickenlooper, who, with 
his team when he came into office, observed that the process that I had 
in place was a little bit creakier than maybe it should have been. 
Together, we have been able to improve it.
  I want to say thank you also to the tireless advisory committee 
members of the bar in Colorado, who have given us their best 
recommendations all along the way, including the recommendation that 
has now led to the nomination of Judge Kato Crews and, hopefully, to 
his confirmation today.
  With that, I yield the floor, and I look forward to the next speaker.
  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.
  Mr. HICKENLOOPER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bennet). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

[[Page S57]]

  

  Mr. HICKENLOOPER. Mr. President, today, the Senate will consider 
President Biden's nominee, Judge Kato Crews, for the U.S. District 
Court for the District of Colorado, as our senior Senator so ably 
represented.
  I am not a lawyer, so I bring a slightly different perspective, but I 
do recognize the experience and sensibilities that Senator Bennet 
brings to this. I would argue that there is no one else in the Senate 
who has spent as much time really looking at our legal system and 
examining it from a variety of different perspectives and who really 
understands what it means to serve on our Federal courts.
  Judge Crews came before us and comes before this body with broad and 
well-earned bipartisan support thanks to a career dedicated to the 
people of Colorado. His experience, his intellect, and his integrity 
set him apart. They make him an ideal candidate for the Federal 
judiciary and will make him a judge for all of Colorado.
  As Senator Bennet mentioned, he comes from a part of Colorado, 
Pueblo, in the south-central part of the State, which sometimes has 
been neglected in these types of appointments. Judge Crews will bring 
that valuable experience from southern Colorado, but he also 
understands the whole State.
  In addition to the more than 20 years of legal experience that he 
brings to the bench, Judge Crews has also served as a magistrate judge 
for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado since 2018--
the same court to which he has been nominated.
  As Senator Bennet mentioned, he also has a tremendous commitment to 
pro bono work. He founded the Federal Limited Appearance Program, which 
is a volunteer program that provides people with free representation 
when they first engage with our legal system. For many people, this can 
be an unknown and scary time for them--really, for any citizen. This 
program lends a helping hand and helps people deal with that anxiety.
  Judge Crews's experience in community service has earned him 
enthusiastic support from members of the Colorado legal community up 
and down the list--former colleagues, labor leaders, elected officials. 
In supporting his nomination, a group of attorneys who has appeared as 
opposing counsel in Judge Crews's courtroom wrote:

       Not one of us questions Magistrate Judge Crews's intellect, 
     integrity, respect for the law, and the profession we share.

  They then added:

       He has embodied what all hope to see in a judicial 
     officer--fairness and impartiality.

  I could not agree more.
  Kato has my full and wholehearted support. He is exactly the type of 
person who needs to be on the bench, who needs to join the court.
  In May, the Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported Judge 
Crews's nomination to the floor, and now I want to wholeheartedly 
encourage all of my colleagues in the Senate to support his 
confirmation.
  This is a proud day for Colorado. Colorado should be and is proud 
that we can put forward someone like Judge Crews. I know it is also a 
proud day for Judge Crews and his family, of course. We want to make 
sure it is a really good day, so I hope everyone will support him.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.