WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today said that a nomination hearing has been scheduled for Judge Leonard Strand and Judge Rebecca Ebinger, individuals recommended by Grassley for federal judgeships in the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa.
The hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee will be held in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, October 21, at 10 a.m. (ET). The committee is responsible for approving the President’s Article III judicial nominations, including nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court, 13 circuit courts and 94 district courts, including Iowa’s Northern and Southern Districts.
“Both Judge Strand and Judge Ebinger have impeccable credentials and have been through a rigorous application process, by both my commission and the White House. I appreciate the White House working with me to move these outstanding Iowans forward,” Grassley said. “I look forward to seeing both nominees next week before my committee.”
Grassley recommended Strand and Ebinger to the White House after an extensive effort by a Judicial Selection Commission that Grassley formed after two judges announced their intention to take senior status. The commission was comprised of highly qualified members of the Iowa legal community, and led by Cynthia Moser, a former Iowa State Bar Association president. The commission also included Richard Sapp, Jeffrey Goodman, Harlan D. Hockenberg, and Adam Freed.
These lawyers spent hundreds of hours carefully reviewing applications and interviewing each of the 39 Iowans who submitted applications and sought consideration. Eleven applicants were then selected to participate in a lengthy second interview. The commission’s review included not only these interviews, but also a thorough study and examination of the applicants’ professional history, credentials, and qualifications. The commission then made recommendations to Grassley, who reviewed the candidates and their qualifications before submitting his recommendations to the White House.
Strand currently serves as a U.S. magistrate judge in Sioux City for the Northern District of Iowa. He graduated first in his class from the College of Law at the University of Iowa and brings extensive experience in civil litigation from private practice in Cedar Rapids.
Ebinger is a state district judge in Polk County. She graduated from Yale Law School, was an assistant U.S. attorney in both the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa, and clerked for Judge Michael J. Melloy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
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