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26 ■ JUNE 14, 2021 NEWS

Republicans Skeptical of Biden Nominees’

Judicial Philosophies and Experience

By Jacqueline Thomsen

enate Republicans on Wednesday offered up
new criticism for President Joe Biden’s judicial
Snominees, with questions about a pair of public
defenders’ lack of civil litigation experience as well
as scrutiny over their judicial philosophies.
The nominees, Eunice Lee for the U.S. Court of Ap-
peals for the Second Circuit and Veronica Rossman
for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit,
both have extensive careers as public defenders; Lee
has spent her entire post-law school career, with the
exception of clerkships, as a defender.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick
Durbin of Illinois opened Wednesday’s hearing with
an effort to cut off potential Republican attacks. In
addition to defending those supported by the pro-
gressive group Demand Justice—which he noted
does not play a role in selecting the nominees the
way the Federalist Society did for the Trump ad-
ministration—and spoke out against attempts to get
nominees to commit to originalism as their judicial
philosophy.
He noted that many circuit court judges were Eunice C. Lee of the New York Federal Defenders.
previously prosecutors and that Lee and Rossman’s (Courtesy photo)
background as defenders would help bring different confirmed and a case came before me involving an
professional experiences to the appeals courts. area of civil litigation that I would approach it dili-
“Our most important lodestar should be whether gently, get back up to speed on areas that I think I
the nominees before us have the hallmarks of what could access readily,” Rossman said. “And because I
makes a good judge,” Durbin said, adding that he have spent the last decade, as I call it, at home in
believed Wednesday’s nominees would fit that de- the Tenth Circuit, practicing appellate litigation in
scription. the Tenth Circuit, I would be able to hit the ground
Even with the Democratic defenses in place, running in the sense that I’m very familiar with the
several Republican senators raised concerns about structure within which these various appeals in in
whether the nominees’ experiences would be a large range of subject areas would arise. And I’m
enough for them to sit on their respective appeals confident that if confirmed, I could rise to the chal-
courts. Rossman told Sen. Chuck Grassley, D-Iowa, lenge.”
that, even though she has spent the last 11 years at When Grassley asked Lee a similar question, she
the federal public defender’s office, she also worked acknowledged that she has not practiced much in the
on civil matters as an associate at a “large law firm.” area of civil litigation. “I think as an appellate attor-
“I think that if I were so fortunate as to be ney, and as an appellate judge should I be confirmed,

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