Prepared Floor Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee
On the Nominations of
Debra M. Brown, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi
Gregory Howard Woods, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York
Monday, November 4, 2013
Mr. President,
I rise in support of the nominations of Debra M. Brown, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi and Gregory Howard Woods, to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York.
Before we vote on these nominations, I want to inform my fellow Senators and the American people— again — on the excellent progress we have made on nominations and fair treatment this President has received.
With these confirmations today, the Senate will have confirmed 38 lower court Article 3 judicial nominees this year. Despite what I frequently hear – that this President is being treated different than President Bush – President Obama is clearly ahead of where President Bush was at a similar time frame. The 38 confirmations this year is more than two and a half times the number confirmed at a similar stage in President Bush’s second term, when only 14 judicial nominees had been confirmed.
In fact, for the entire fifth year of President Bush’s term, only 21 lower court judges were confirmed. Again, in President Obama’s fifth year, we will have confirmed 38 nominees after today’s votes.
In addition to the robust pace of activity on the floor, the committee has had an aggressive schedule of hearings and business meetings, taking action on many more nominees.
In total, the Senate will have confirmed 207 lower court Article III judges. We have voted against three nominees. 207 - 3 is a success rate of 99 percent. I think that is a pretty outstanding record for any President.
So I reject the continuing rhetoric regarding how Republicans are obstructing President Obama’s judicial nominees.
Again, I congratulate the nominees on their anticipated confirmations and will put my complete statement in the record, outlining the professional qualifications of these nominees.
Debra M. Brown is nominated to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi. She received her B.Arch. from Mississippi State University in 1987. She worked as an associate in architectural firms until starting law school in 1994. She received her J.D. from University of Mississippi School of Law in 1997. Upon graduation, she joined Phelps Dunbar LLP as an associate, focusing on commercial litigation primarily in the financial and insurance context representing commercial clients such as banks, mortgage companies, property and casualty insurers and commercial property managers. She became partner in 2004, and handled matters concerning construction-related litigation for construction sureties, general contractors and some subcontractors. In 2012, she moved to Wise Carter Child & Caraway, P.A. There, she continues to handle construction litigation, as well as representation of owners in construction matters, and representation of hospitals and medical providers in the context of employment law and medical malpractice. She has participated in twelve trials, two as sole counsel, and one as chief counsel.
The ABA has given Ms. Brown a rating of “Unanimous Qualified”.
Gregory Howard Woods is nominated to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. He received his B.A. from Williams College in 1991 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1995. After graduating from law school, Mr. Woods joined the Department of Justice as a trial attorney in the civil division. While at the Justice Department, his practice included investigating and litigating cases under the False Claims Act. In 1998, Mr. Woods joined Debevoise & Plimpton as an associate and was made an equity partner in 2004. At Debevoise & Plimpton his practice was focused almost exclusively on corporate transactional law. As a partner, he devoted his practice principally to finance and restructuring matters.
In August 2009 he was named Deputy General Counsel for the Department of Transportation. In 2012, after Senate confirmation, he was appointed by President Obama to be General Counsel of the Department of Energy.
The ABA has given Mr. Woods a rating of “Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified.”
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