[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 23227-23228]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CONFIRMATION OF ALBERT DIAZ

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I am pleased the Senate has confirmed 
the nomination of Albert Diaz of North Carolina to be a U.S. circuit 
judge for the Fourth Circuit.
  Judge Diaz is strongly supported by his home State Senators, Senators 
Hagan and Burr, and he received the highest possible rating of ``well 
qualified'' from the American Bar Association's rating committee. The 
process Senators Hagan and Burr used to recommend these nominations to 
the President--working in a bipartisan fashion with each other and the 
White House--is a model for how we can improve the judicial selection 
and confirmation process going forward.
  I chaired the confirmation hearing for Judge Diaz in December 2009, 
and in January 2010 the Judiciary Committee unanimously approved his 
nomination by a 19-0 vote.
  I am disappointed that it has taken the Senate almost a full year to 
take final action on this nomination.
  I take a special interest in the Fourth Circuit, as it includes my 
home State of Maryland. When President Bush was in office, in May 2008 
I chaired the confirmation hearing for Justice Steven Agee, who served 
on the Virginia Supreme Court and was confirmed to be a U.S. circuit 
judge for the Fourth Circuit. Since President Obama has taken office, 
in April 2009 I chaired the confirmation hearing for Judge Andre Davis 
of Maryland, a Federal district judge in Baltimore, who was confirmed 
last year to be a judge on the Fourth Circuit. In October 2009, I 
chaired the confirmation hearing of Justice Barbara Keenan of Virginia, 
who had served on the Virginia Supreme Court and was confirmed in March 
of this year by the Senate. Finally, in December 2009, I chaired the 
confirmation hearing of James Wynn of North Carolina, who had served as 
an associate judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and was 
confirmed by the Senate in August 2010.
  I mention these nominations by way of background for my colleagues, 
because the Fourth Circuit has had one of the highest vacancy rates in 
the country. When I came to the Senate in 2007, out of the 15 seats 
authorized by Congress, 5 of the seats of the Fourth Circuit were 
vacant. That means that one-third of the court's seats were vacant. Our 
circuit courts of appeals are the final word for most of our civil and 
criminal litigants, as the Supreme Court only accepts a handful of 
cases.
  We should also be working to increase the diversity of the judges of 
the Fourth Circuit. The Fourth Circuit is one of the most diverse 
circuits in the Nation, according to the most recent Census estimates. 
In terms of the Fourth Circuit--which consists of Maryland, Virginia, 
West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina--22 percent of the 
residents are African American. In my home State of Maryland, African 
Americans constitute 30 percent of the population. By way of 
comparison, the U.S. population is 12 percent African American.
  Ironically, the judges on the Fourth Circuit have not historically 
been known for their diversity. The first woman to sit on the Fourth 
Circuit was not appointed until 1992. The first African American to sit 
on the Fourth Circuit was not appointed until 2001.
  In recent years I am pleased that the Fourth Circuit has indeed 
become more diverse and representative of the population it oversees. 
The Senate took another important step forward to increase diversity on 
the Fourth Circuit with the confirmation of Judge James Wynn before our 
August recess. I am pleased that 4 out of the 15 judges on the Fourth 
Circuit--about one-quarter of the court--are now African American. And 
I am also pleased that in 2007, for the first time in history, a woman 
served as chief judge of the Fourth Circuit. Until a vacancy occurred 
last year, women made up 3 out of the 15 judges on the Fourth Circuit, 
or one-fifth of the court. I look forward to further increasing the 
diversity of the Fourth Circuit in the future.
  With the nomination of Judge Diaz, the Senate has another opportunity 
to increase diversity on the Fourth Circuit. Judge Diaz is the first 
Latino judge to ever sit on the Fourth Circuit in its history.
  Judge Albert Diaz also comes to the Senate with a broad range of both 
judicial and legal experience in both the civilian and military court 
systems.
  Judge Diaz currently serves as a special superior court judge for 
complex business cases, one of only three in North Carolina.

[[Page 23228]]

  Judge Diaz began his legal career in the U.S. Marine Corps legal 
services support section, where he served as a prosecutor, defense 
counsel, and ultimately chief review officer. He then moved to the 
Navy's Office of the Judge Advocate General, JAG, where he served for 4 
years as appellate government counsel handling criminal appeals. Upon 
entering private practice, Judge Diaz remained in the Marine Corps 
Reserves, serving over the years as a defense lawyer, trial judge, and 
appellate judge.
  Judge Diaz was the first Latino appointed to the North Carolina 
Superior Court when he was named as a resident superior court judge in 
2001.
  I therefore pleased that the Senate has confirmed Judge Diaz, an 
outstanding nominee who enjoys bipartisan support from his home State 
Senators and a unanimous endorsement from the Judiciary Committee. By 
confirming Judge Diaz, the Senate takes an important step in bringing 
the vacancy rate down on the Fourth Circuit, and for the first time in 
many years the confirmed judges on the Fourth Circuit will be almost up 
to full strength. Finally, we will have a more diverse bench that 
better represents the population of this circuit.

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