INTRODUCTION [AS PREPARED]: MICHAEL R. BARRETT CONFIRMATION HEARING -- JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
It is my pleasure and honor to introduce fellow Ohioan, Michael R. Barrett, to the Members of the Judiciary Committee today. Mr. Barrett currently practices as an attorney for the Cincinnati law firm of Barrett & Weber. President Bush has nominated him to serve as a Federal District Court judge in the Southern District of Ohio.
Michael Barrett's legal career, spanning almost 30 years, has been distinguished -- not only by his accomplishments as a litigator, but also by his truly extraordinary record of public and civic leadership. A brief summary of his background offers ample evidence of his qualifications. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where he earned both his Bachelor of Arts degree and his law degree.
Directly out of law school, Mr. Barrett served the State of Ohio as an Administrative Hearing Officer for over a year. He then moved to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office, where he served first as an Assistant Prosecutor and then as Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney of the Felony Trial Division. During this time, Mr. Barrett also served as Chief of the Special County Arson Task Force, supervising the investigation and prosecution of arson cases.
After six years in the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office, Mr. Barrett moved into private practice with the firm of Graydon, Head & Richey, where he remained for 10 years as associate and then partner. He was listed several times in the Best Lawyers in America for his domestic relations practice. He then joined the Cincinnati law firm of Barrett & Weber, where he continues to practice today in the area of general litigation.
Mr. Barrett has had an extremely diverse career as a litigator. He has argued in both state and federal courts, and his court appearances are almost evenly split between civil and criminal cases. In addition to his background as a prosecutor, he has developed a very successful defense practice. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and it is particularly noteworthy that he has argued capital murder cases as both a prosecutor and as a defense attorney.
Mr. Barrett's expertise, however, extends well beyond litigation. He was appointed as a Special Master/Trustee in a class action lawsuit, in which he analyzed over 900 claims, responses, and the allocation of settlement funds under that suit. He also was chosen to be the Receiver in a securities case, and in that role, he worked with counsel to conduct the collection and liquidation of investor assets, which is an important and often complicated financial and legal task.
His experience with alternative dispute resolution techniques is also impressive. He was a board member of the Cincinnati Center for the Resolution of Disputes and was awarded the Outstanding Service Award as a Mediator for the Southern District of Ohio. This unusually diverse legal background gives Mr. Barrett a broad view of the legal system and a wide understanding that will help him be a successful federal judge.
Mr. Barrett is also an extremely accomplished community leader, who has served the public in a variety of roles, only a few of which I will mention here today. He served on the Supreme Court of Ohio Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline for 15 years. He was on the Board of Trustees for the University of Cincinnati, and the Board of Trustees of the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati. He was also co-chair of the Police and Justice Committee of "Community Action Now," a project formed by and for Cincinnati community leaders and charged with the task of achieving greater equity, opportunity, and inclusion for all Cincinnati residents. He also has been involved with a wide range of charitable and social service organizations, including Children's Services of Hamilton County, Talbert House, and Boys and Girls Hope of Cincinnati.
Michael Barrett is clearly an accomplished attorney and an experienced community leader. Both are important qualifications for this position. Given his background and experience, it is not surprising that a "substantial majority" of the ABA panel that reviewed his qualifications found him to be "well-qualified," which is the highest possible rating; the remaining members of the panel gave him the next-highest rating of "qualified." This very high rating merely confirms his excellent credentials for the position.
Even more important, however, is simply that Mike Barrett is a good man. I've spoken with attorneys and judges who have worked both with and against Mr. Barrett professionally, and they describe him as a calm and even-tempered man, who is always willing to listen. They confirm what I think of Mike Barrett: He is a bright, affable, and intellectually open-minded person, with a strong sense of the law -- someone who will make an excellent judge. Michael Barrett is an outstanding nominee, and I strongly believe that he will serve admirably as a Federal District Court judge for the Southern District of Ohio.
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