The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“NOMINATIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S8045 on Nov. 14, 2013.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NOMINATIONS
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I rise to offer my strong support for Ms. Nina Pillard to be a U.S. district court judge for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Nina Pillard is an exemplary nominee who is more than qualified to serve on the Federal bench.
She has been a tenured professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University Law Center for 15 years and is a highly accomplished litigator who has practiced law at every level of the court system, including the Supreme Court.
Nina Pillard's impressive professional background makes her superbly qualified to serve on the DC Circuit. Her sheer talent, legal prowess, and vast and varied professional career is a testament to her brilliance.
She has argued nine cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and briefed dozens of others on significant constitutional questions such as gender equality, the Family Medical Leave Act, the right to a jury trial, and free speech.
Over the course of her 25-year legal career, Ms. Pillard has argued and/or briefed landmark Supreme Court cases, including United States v. Virginia, where she successfully opened the doors of the Virginia Military Institute to female cadets.
Nina attended Harvard Law School, where she was editor of the Harvard Law Review. She began her career as a clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for the Honorable Louis H. Pollak and served as assistant counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. She then joined the office of the Solicitor General of the United States, where she briefed and argued cases on behalf of the Federal Government before the Supreme Court. In 1998, she was named Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel.
Nina is a board member for the American Arbitration Association and is an active reader for the American Bar Association Reading Committee, which evaluated the writings of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito for the Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary. She also is a member of the Georgetown Law Supreme Court Institute and serves on the Board of Academic Advisors for the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law. Previously, she served as a member of the American Constitution Society and the Center for Transnational Legal Studies.
However, some of my colleagues are once again blocking another highly qualified and immensely talented woman. The filibuster of Caitlin Halligan, Patricia Millett, and the threatened filibuster of Nina Pillard is history repeating itself.
Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have argued that the three remaining vacancies on the DC Circuit should be eliminated because the court's caseload is too low.
What they have failed to mention is that the DC Circuit Court currently has 8 active judges and 6 senior judges with an astonishing caseload total of 1,479. This outrageous argument was made just over 7 months ago, when another highly qualified female nominee to the DC Circuit, and New Yorker, Caitlin Halligan, was filibustered.
It should also be noted that in the last 19 years, the Senate has confirmed only one woman to this important court. Furthermore, the DC Circuit has only had five female judges during its entire 120-year history. In a country where women make up over half of the population, that is a disgraceful statistic and one this body can take steps to eliminate immediately.
It is absolutely necessary that the Senate confirm supremely qualified individuals such as Nina Pillard to serve on the Federal judiciary. Her experience is unmatched and her passion for the law is unquestioned. With a caseload as high as that of the DC Circuit, it is our responsibility in the Senate to act swiftly in confirming the President's nominees. We cannot continue nor can we afford to toss out highly experienced individuals, particularly such accomplished women to serve in our Federal Judiciary because of political gamesmanship. The time to act is now.
____________________
