[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5870-S5871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Adam B. Abelson

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I rise in strong support of the 
nomination of U.S. Magistrate Judge Adam Abelson to be elevated to 
become a U.S. district judge for the District of Maryland. I joined 
with Senator Van Hollen to recommend this nominee to President Biden.
  Judge Abelson, who lives in Baltimore and now serves as a U.S. 
magistrate judge in our Baltimore courthouse, has been nominated to 
fill the current vacancy that occurred due to former Chief Judge James 
Bredar recently taking senior status.
  Senator Van Hollen and I worked to establish a judicial selection 
committee in Maryland, including an open application process. In 
particular, we sought out a highly qualified and diverse applicant 
pool. Our committee interviewed numerous applicants. Senator Van Hollen 
and I then personally interviewed several finalists before recommending 
names to the White House.
  I want to tell you that this was an extremely competitive process. We 
had a very, very large number of well-qualified people who sought to 
serve as judge in our district court. Judge Abelson rose to the top, 
and we are very proud to make that recommendation.
  Judge Abelson has been a U.S. magistrate judge for the U.S. District 
Court for the District of Maryland since September of 2023. Prior to 
his judicial service, Judge Abelson worked in private practice at 
Zuckerman Spaeder from 2012 to 2023, rising from associate to partner. 
He served as a law clerk for both Judge Andre Davis on the Fourth 
Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as Judge Catherine Blake on the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Maryland.
  Judge Abelson received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the New York 
University School of Law and his B.A. from Princeton University. Before 
law school, Judge Abelson served in Santiago, Chile, as a research 
fellow for the Human Rights Watch.
  In private practice, he has represented clients in complex civil 
litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and government 
investigations. He maintained an active pro bono practice and was 
deeply involved in the community and legal profession.
  He served as chair of the American Bar Association's Working Group on 
Building Public Trust in the American Justice System, in which he 
worked to develop the ABA's ``Ten Guidelines on Court Fines and Fees.'' 
He coordinated its development of the ABA's ``Principles on Law 
Enforcement Body-Worn Camera Policies.'' He served on the board of the 
Job Opportunities Task Force, including serving as the vice chair, and 
served as a board member and officer of the Maryland chapter of the 
Federal Bar Association.
  I think you can see that Judge Abelson has been deeply involved in 
the legal community and in our community in order to be able to 
properly serve as a magistrate judge.
  In September of 2023, Judge Abelson was appointed by the bench to 
serve as a U.S. magistrate judge for the District of Maryland, where he 
now sits in Baltimore. As a sitting Federal magistrate judge, Judge 
Abelson presides over preliminary criminal proceedings, including 
initial appearances, detention hearings, and arraignments. He handles 
Federal misdemeanor offenses and reviews applications for search and 
arrest warrants, pen registers, and trap and trace devices.
  On the civil side, he presides over civil proceedings by consent of 
the parties, conducts settlement conferences in civil lawsuits, and 
decides discovery disputes and nondispositive motions.
  If confirmed as a district judge, he would continue to serve in the 
same court where he now sits as a magistrate judge and where he has 
practiced for many years as a private law firm attorney.
  I think you can see he is extremely well qualified for this position. 
He has the experience and he has the background to serve as a U.S. 
district court judge for Maryland.
  I was delighted to recommend the nomination of Judge Abelson to 
President Biden, along with Senator Van Hollen. Judicial nominees must 
meet the highest standards of integrity, competence, and temperament. I 
am confident that Judge Abelson will safeguard the rights of all 
Marylanders, uphold the Constitution and rule of law, and faithfully 
follow the judicial oath to ``do equal right to the poor and to the 
rich.''
  Judge Abelson will serve the people of Maryland well if confirmed for 
this lifetime appointment. He has strong legal and judicial 
qualifications and demonstrates a track record of public service.
  Let me just say that the American Bar Association's Standing 
Committee on the Federal Judiciary gave Judge Abelson a rating, 
unanimously, of ``well qualified,'' which, as you all know, is the 
highest possible rating. And the Judiciary Committee favorably reported 
Judge Abelson with a bipartisan vote in July of this year.
  I know that public service is a family affair and sacrifice. I 
particularly want to thank Judge Abelson's family for agreeing to share 
him with the people of Maryland in the interest of public service.
  I urge my colleagues in the Senate to confirm his nomination so he 
can continue to serve the public as a district court judge.
  With that, I see my colleague Senator Van Hollen is on the floor. Let 
me just comment that it has been a real pleasure for me to work with 
Senator Van Hollen as we have gone through the process of filling our 
judicial nominations in Maryland. And he has been an extremely valuable 
Member in recruiting and making sure we only recommend the very best to 
the Senate for confirmation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam President, let me start by thanking my friend 
and the senior Senator from the great State of Maryland for putting 
together a process that does ensure that we recommend the very best to 
our colleagues. I join him in expressing my strong support for the 
confirmation of Adam Abelson of Maryland to serve as a U.S. district 
court judge for the District of Maryland. I was honored to recommend 
his confirmation to the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senator 
Cardin, and very pleased to see the Senate Judiciary Committee support 
that nomination.
  Judge Abelson's nomination was put forward by President Biden after 
Chief Judge James Bredar announced his decision to take senior status 
in May. Chief Judge Bredar served Marylanders on the district court 
with distinction for over 14 years, and I want to thank him for his 
excellent public service and unwavering commitment to the rule of law.
  Judge Bredar left the Maryland District Court in the very capable 
hands of now-Chief Judge Russell, and we wish him all the best as he 
continues his leadership.
  For Judge Abelson, this moment is the next step in a remarkable 
career shaped by dedication to his community, upholding equal justice 
under the law, and making a positive impact on the world. His 
experience is both wide and deep.
  While in law school, he traveled abroad to promote human rights as a 
research fellow for Human Rights Watch, where he advocated for victims 
of the Pinochet regime in Chile and promoted freedom of the press in 
Argentina and Venezuela. As a fellow at the Department of Justice, he 
helped to prosecute the perpetrators of genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda.
  He then clerked for Judge Andre Davis on the Fourth Circuit Court of 
Appeals and for Judge Catherine Blake on the District Court for the 
District of Maryland--two judges known and respected for their stellar 
and distinguished service.
  Following his clerkships, as Senator Cardin indicated, he was in 
private practice. He was at the firm of Zuckerman Spaeder, where he 
rose to the rank of partner and became what some call a legal omnivore, 
meaning he covered a vast array of territory in the legal realm--
working with plaintiffs and defendants in class actions, white-collar 
criminal cases, investigations--in every step of the trial process. He 
covered a range of topics, including

[[Page S5871]]

antitrust, legal ethics, consumer protection, family law, and even one 
memorable case regarding horseshoe crabs.
  His diversity of experience is a testament to Judge Abelson's work 
ethic, which has allowed him to master one highly complex area of the 
law after another. His colleagues say he was gifted with ``a special 
ability to explain complex legal matters in a way that is readily 
accessible'' to everyone. And he fought to ensure that ``neither 
lawyers nor judges lose sight of the humanity of every individual, 
without regard to their resources.''
  In addition to his early work fighting for human rights abroad, Adam 
has devoted himself to the same principles here at home through pro 
bono work. Again, his colleagues say he ``regularly leapt at the chance 
to take on matters in furtherance of public good.''
  I do want to mention one important case: his work in Wit v. United 
Behavioral Health, which was a class-action lawsuit in which he took on 
a massive health insurance company on behalf of 100,000 patients with 
mental health and substance abuse disorders. These patients were being 
denied coverage and being forced to shoulder huge out-of-pocket costs 
for essential care. Adam Abelson helped win them relief, and former 
Congressman Patrick Kennedy called it the ``Brown v. Board of Education 
for the mental health movement'' case.
  It is no surprise that, as Senator Cardin said, the American Bar 
Association unanimously ruled that Judge Abelson is ``well qualified'' 
for the position to which he was nominated.
  He has also been a devoted and outstanding member of the legal 
community, taking on responsibilities with the Maryland chapter of the 
Federal Bar Association and also having chaired the American Bar 
Association's Working Group on Building Public Trust in the American 
Justice System.
  He has also been an indispensable citizen in the great city of 
Baltimore. He served on the board of the Job Opportunities Task Force, 
which works to eliminate educational and employment barriers for low-
wage workers with job training, advocacy, and research. He is an active 
member of his synagogue, Beth El Congregation.
  I want to end just by mentioning some of his family members to whom 
he would readily say he owes his good fortune in being nominated for 
this position. His grandmother Lois was a public school guidance 
counselor who counseled at-risk youth, taught adult education classes, 
and was involved in other community and civic activities--all into her 
nineties. In his application, Judge Abelson remembers that his 
grandmother helped put him on the path to public service. When she 
delivered meals for senior citizens in public housing, she took Adam 
and her other grandchildren along.

  She died 10 years ago, but it is clear that her tenacious work ethic 
and her devotion to justice live on in her grandson.
  Like Senator Cardin, I also want to acknowledge his immediate family 
members--his wife Laura Ginsberg Abelson, who is a former Federal 
public defender, an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Law 
School, and a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law 
School. It was Laura who grew up in Baltimore, and we have her to thank 
many years ago for poaching Adam from Ohio. They decided to raise their 
family in Baltimore City. Their sons Asher and Max are both currently 
attending Baltimore City public schools, and both Mom and Dad are very 
active in their children's educations.
  We know our democracy depends on a strong, independent judiciary, and 
our judiciary depends on people like Judge Abelson--leaders with nimble 
minds and deep-rooted convictions. He has served with distinction as a 
magistrate judge, and he will make Maryland and America proud as a 
district judge. I strongly urge my colleagues to vote to confirm him.
  I yield the floor.

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