WASHINGTON ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today voted to move the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the full Senate for a vote. Estrada was nominated by the President to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
"Mr. Estrada's credentials are stellar and an excellent candidate for the D.C. Circuit," Grassley said. "He is a good person who is committed to follow the law. It's past time that we confirm him. "
Here is Grassley's prepared statement.
Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley, of Iowa
Judiciary Committee Executive Business Meeting
Miguel Estrada
Thursday, January 30, 2003
Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased that the Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote today on the nomination of Miguel Estrada. Unfortunately, I'm unable to be at today's mark-up, because I'm chairing an oversight hearing in the Finance Committee on border security. Although I'm not present for the mark-up, I'll be voting by proxy in favor of the confirmation of Miguel Estrada.
He is an excellent candidate for the D.C. Circuit. Not only is he regarded as one of the nation's top appellate lawyers, the American Bar Association - the Democrats' "gold standard" for judicial nominees - unanimously rated him "well qualified." It's past time that we confirm Mr. Estrada, considering that he is one of the original 11 judicial nominees President Bush sent up to the Senate over a year and a half ago.
If confirmed, Miguel Estrada would be the first Hispanic-American to ever sit on the D.C. Circuit court. His credentials are stellar. Mr. Estrada received a J.D. from Harvard Law School magna cum laude, where he was editor of the Law Review. He served as a law clerk to the Second Circuit and as a law clerk to Justice Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Subsequently, he served as Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section, U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, and then as Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States. Mr. Estrada is now a partner with the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. This is a true American success story, and we should all be proud of Mr. Estrada's many accomplishments.
But we are hearing the usual grumblings about this exceptionally qualified lawyer. Concerns have materialized out of thin air that Mr. Estrada may not have the "right judicial temperament" for the job. Allegations have all of a sudden surfaced out of nowhere that Mr. Estrada is a right-wing ideologue that will impose his own views and cannot be trusted to follow the law. In my opinion, these concerns and allegations are pure fabrication and speculation.
They have no basis in fact. To the contrary, numerous present and former co-workers, as well as individuals who know Mr. Estrada and his work well, have written to the Judiciary Committee expressing their strong support for an individual that will take the law seriously, apply Supreme Court precedent faithfully, and not rule based on personal views or political perspectives. Also to the contrary, the Judiciary Committee has received letters from both Republicans and Democrats that have highly praised Mr. Estrada's intellect, judgment, integrity and ethics.
We must put a stop to these types of unfounded political attacks and get on with the business of confirming to the federal bench good men and women who are committed to follow the law. To deny Miguel Estrada this position on the D.C. Circuit would be to shut the door on the American dream for Hispanic Americans everywhere. Mr. Estrada will make a fine federal judge, and I am happy to support his nomination
.