Eid, Bibas Will Make Outstanding Additions To The Federal Judiciary
‘[N]ominees like Justice Eid and Professor Bibas are more than just the sum of their credentials — though theirs are impressive indeed, and I will expand on those credentials in just a moment. Nominees like these also believe, like Justice Gorsuch, that the role of a judge is to apply the law equally to everyone and to do so as the law is actually written, not as they wish it might be.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding two more of President Trump’s well-qualified Circuit Court nominees, Justice Allison Eid and Professor Stephanos Bibas:
“The Senate continues to press forward confirming President Trump’s outstanding nominations to the federal courts. Already this week, we have confirmed two smart, strong, and talented women to serve on our nation’s circuit courts. Today, we will consider two more well-qualified nominees: Allison Eid and Stephanos Bibas
“First, we will confirm Allison Eid, whom the president has nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Justice Eid has some big shoes to fill in taking that seat — it became vacant when Neil Gorsuch ascended to the Supreme Court. It’s a hard act to follow. And yet, I have every confidence she will excel in the role.
“You see, nominees like Justice Eid and Professor Bibas are more than just the sum of their credentials — though theirs are impressive indeed, and I will expand on those credentials in just a moment. Nominees like these also believe, like Justice Gorsuch, that the role of a judge is to apply the law equally to everyone and to do so as the law is actually written, not as they wish it might be. As Justice Gorsuch said, ‘A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge — stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands.’ Or, put a different way, ‘I don't think there are red judges, and I don't think there are blue judges. All judges wear black.’
“That’s the view of Neil Gorsuch. That’s the view of Allison Eid and Stephanos Bibas. That’s just the kind of fair-minded judge you want serving on the bench—and that’s just the kind of fair-minded judge we are confirming this week, including the exceptional nominees before us. Justice Allison Eid graduated from the University of Chicago Law School with high honors. She earned the opportunity to clerk for Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith and then for Justice Clarence Thomas, before joining the faculty of the University of Colorado School of Law – where she served as professor for our colleague, Senator Gardner. When he introduced his former professor before the Judiciary Committee, Senator Gardner noted how much she cared about ‘robust debates and hearing the views of others.’ ‘Justice Eid,’ he said, ‘was open to their views, engaging with them, and [was] never biased against different perspectives.’
“Later, Justice Eid was appointed to serve as Colorado’s Solicitor General, and then, in 2006, to the Colorado Supreme Court. Two years later, 75% of Coloradans voted to retain her. Her time on the state’s high court has been marked by clear and precise writing and judicial independence.
“One of Justice Eid’s former clerks wrote a column in the Denver Post in support of her nomination. As a jurist, this clerk wrote, ‘Eid commits her full mental energy and attention to each case, carefully mastering every legal and factual detail in order to conduct a rigorous analysis dictated ultimately by the law.’ In addition, this former clerk added a personal touch to Justice Eid’s incredible resume. ‘For women striving to achieve that elusive balance between family life and a successful career, it can be hard to find strong role models. But Colorado’s Allison Eid is a shining example.’
“Justice Eid is clearly well-qualified for the position to which she has been nominated. She is just the kind of fair-minded judge people would want hearing their case. I look forward to supporting her nomination today, and I ask each of my colleagues to join me in confirming the nomination of this well-qualified jurist. I ask them to join me in supporting Professor Bibas too.
“Professor Bibas has served as an assistant U.S. Attorney. He has experience in private practice. He has clerked for a Circuit Court judge and for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Today, he is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law where, according to the former Dean of Students, he ‘enjoys the give and take of discussion’ and is ‘very fair, considerate, and encouraging.’
“Moreover, as a bipartisan group of more than 100 law professors put it in a letter to the Judiciary Committee, Professor Bibas’ ‘fair-mindedness, conscientiousness, and personal integrity are beyond question’ and, in their view, ‘his judicial temperament will reflect these qualities and…he will faithfully discharge his duty to apply the law fairly and even-handedly in all matters before him.’
“Professor Bibas also reminded us that he — like Justice Gorsuch and Justice Eid — believes in a fair-minded approach to the law. In his words, ‘people need to know and believe that judges will apply the law impartially and evenhandedly to all litigants, regardless of their wealth or power.’ He’s right. Let’s join together in supporting him today. I would like to once again thank Judiciary Committee Chairman Grassley for all this work to bring these impressive nominees to the floor. Together with the president, we will continue working hard to put judges on the federal courts who will uphold the law as it’s written, not as they wish it was.”
Related Issues: Judicial Nominations
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