The Honorable Ken Salazar

Senator

September 9, 2008

Statement of Senator Ken Salazar
Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Nominations
September 9, 2008

Thank you Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Specter for holding this hearing today. I am very pleased that two of the five nominees that the Committee will consider, Christine Arguello and Phillip Brimmer, were nominated to serve as U.S. District Judges for the District of Colorado.

Senator Allard and I recognize that very few nominees are approved this late in the Congressional session, especially when they are nominated as late as July. Given this fact, we are very grateful that the process to confirm Christine Arguello and Philip Brimmer is moving forward.

I am honored to introduce Christine M. Arguello to the Committee. Ms. Arguello is a Colorado native who received her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Throughout her impressive career, she has served as a law school professor and co-authored a law school casebook on Evidence that is used at law schools across the country. Ms. Arguello is a former partner of Davis Graham & Stubbs in Denver and at Duncan, Green, Brown & Langeness in Denver. Ms. Arguello also served as Chief Deputy at the Colorado Attorney General's office. Today, Ms. Arguello serves as Senior Associate Counsel for the University of Colorado.

In January, I formed a bipartisan Judicial Nominations Advisory Commission to help select highly qualified individuals to forward to the White House for consideration of judicial appointments. The Commission highly recommended Christine Arguello to me to consider citing her outstanding legal experience.

Philip Brimmer was born in Rawlins, Wyoming, but has been a long-time Colorado resident. He received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Zita L. Weinshienk, a United States District Court Judge for the District of Colorado. Mr. Brimmer was an Associate at Kirkland & Ellis before joining the Denver District Attorney's office. Today, Mr. Brimmer serves as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Last week, the American Bar Association rated Mr. Brimmer "well qualified" to serve, its highest rating.

We can all agree that these are vitally important lifetime appointments to our federal judiciary. These judgeships should be filled only by the most competent and highly qualified individuals. Both Christine Arguello and Philip Brimmer would serve the people of Colorado and the Nation well as District Court judges. I am hopeful that this Committee will approve these nominations and that the full Senate will confirm them as soon as possible.