[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 10 (Monday, March 13, 2000)]
[Pages 482-483]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Senate Action on Judicial Nominations

March 7, 2000

    I am pleased that the United States Senate, by a vote of 93 to 0, 
has confirmed Julio Fuentes to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the Third Circuit. Judge Fuentes, whom I nominated one year ago 
tomorrow, is a richly experienced State court judge from Newark, New 
Jersey. He will be the first Hispanic judge to serve on the Third 
Circuit.
    Despite this positive step, however, the Senate still must act on 
the 38 judicial nominees currently awaiting hearings or floor votes. In 
particular, the Senate is poised to act this week on the nominations of 
Richard Paez and Marsha Berzon to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Ninth Circuit. Paez, the first Mexican-American ever to serve as a 
Federal district court judge in Los Angeles, has awaited a vote for more 
than 4 years, longer than any judicial nominee in modern history. Berzon 
has been before the Senate for 2 years. Both are highly qualified 
individuals who will serve the courts and our country with distinction.

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