Nomination of Deborah L. Boardman
Floor Speech
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Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise this afternoon in support of the nomination of U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Boardman to be a U.S. district judge for the District of Maryland.
Judge Boardman was favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee on June 10. I have recommended Judge Boardman, along with Senator Van Hollen, to President Biden, and I strongly support her nomination. Judge Boardman was nominated to fill the future vacancy created when Judge Richard Bennett, appointed by President Bush in 2003, announced his intentions to take senior status upon the confirmation of his successor. President Biden nominated Judge Boardman for this position on March 30, and the Judiciary Committee held her confirmation hearing on May 12.
Shortly after the November 2020 Presidential election, I worked with Senator Van Hollen to establish a judicial selection committee in Maryland. We used an open application process with public advertisement and communicated closely with the State, local, and specialty bar associations in Maryland. In particular, we sought out a highly qualified and diverse applicant pool.
Our committee interviewed everyone who submitted an application, which involved several dozen interviews. Senator Van Hollen and I personally interviewed several finalists before making our recommendations to the White House.
I strongly agree with President Biden's request that Senators consider nominating individuals whose legal experiences have been historically underrepresented on the Federal bench, including those who are public defenders, civil rights and legal aid attorneys, and those who represent Americans in every walk of life. Judge Boardman fits that request.
Judge Deborah Boardman was born in Silver Spring, raised in Frederick, and lives in Baltimore. She received a B.A. from Villanova University. After graduating from college, she accepted a Fulbright scholarship to study in Amman, Jordan. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school, she clerked for a Federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, known as the ``rocket docket'' for the speed of its caseload.
Judge Boardman brings tremendous experience to the courtroom as a sitting U.S. magistrate judge in Maryland since 2019, which is the same Federal judicial district in which she would become a district judge, if confirmed by the Senate. She already handles a heavy caseload in our Federal court.
As a magistrate judge, Judge Boardman presides over civil cases by consent of the parties, resolves civil discovery disputes, conducts settlement conferences, and presides over preliminary criminal proceedings. Additionally, she administers the District of Maryland's Social Security appeals docket.
In civil cases before her by consent of the parties, Judge Boardman rules on motions to dismiss, resolves discovery disputes, decides whether a case should proceed to trial, and presides over bench and jury trials. These cases have involved claims of unemployment discrimination in violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act; claims under 42 United States Code 1983, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; qualified and sovereign immunity defenses; and State law claims stemming from contract disputes and personal injuries.
As you can see, she has broad experience in regards to her tenure as a magistrate judge. She has previously served as the First Assistant Federal Public Defender of Maryland. During her 11-year tenure with the Federal Defender's Office, Judge Boardman represented individuals in both the Greenbelt and Baltimore courthouses that were charged with Federal crimes.
She also has experience in private practice, as she served as a litigation associate at Hogan Lovells, formerly known as Hogan & Hartson, in Washington, DC, from 2001 to 2008. During those years, Judge Boardman worked exclusively on civil matters. She has experience both on the civil side and criminal side. She represented a wide range of corporate and individual clients in State and Federal courts. Specifically, she counseled insurance companies, universities, and healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, among others, in business and contract disputes.
As a fifth-year associate, the firm selected Judge Boardman to serve as the senior pro bono associate in its nationally recognized pro bono department. She managed the firm's largest pro bono cases full-time and appeared in Federal and State courts as the lead attorney in several of these pro bono cases.
She tried a wrongful eviction action before a DC jury. She was lead counsel on a 3-day evidentiary hearing on habeas corpus petitions in the circuit court for the city of Norfolk. She argued numerous discovery motions before the U.S. magistrate judge in the District Court for the District of Columbia in an unemployment discrimination class-action lawsuit.
The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary gave Judge Boardman its highest, unanimous ``well qualified'' recommendation after evaluating her integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament.
As Judge Boardman said at her confirmation hearing, she is the daughter of the American Revolution on her father's side and a first- generation American of Palestinian descent on her mother's side. Her father was born in New York and was drafted to serve in the U.S. Army in the Vietnam war and then went on to be a successful businessman. Her mother was born in Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the West Bank. She immigrated to the United States in the 1950s with her parents and eight brothers and sisters when she was just 13 years of age. She spoke no English. When she began attending public school in suburban Maryland, she then learned, of course, English and went on to a successful career as a beautician.
Judge Boardman has testified that her parents taught her the value of hard work, the importance of education, the value of family, and the need to be generous to those who are less fortunate in life.
In my discussions and meetings with Judge Boardman, I have some impressions that stand out from her as a person. She is fully committed to public service through her diverse professional career as a lawyer, law firm partner, public defender, and now a U.S. magistrate judge. She regards being a sitting judge as the ultimate and highest calling of public service in the legal profession. She wants to inspire the public's confidence in the judiciary and to hear parties' concerns compassionately, while upholding her duty to fairly apply the law. Now as a U.S. magistrate judge, Judge Boardman has told me she understands the absolute importance of adjudicating disputes neutrally and fairly.
She clearly has the temperament for this position. She has told me that she is naturally curious and tries to avoid making assumptions.
Judge Boardman shared with me that her internal compass directed her toward service. Judges are first and foremost public servants, but they hold certain powers over individuals' lives. She understands that. In her view, a district court judgeship is much more than achievement; it is a serious public responsibility which requires a judge to put the public first as they uphold the rule of law.
Numerous individuals wrote to me on Judge Boardman's behalf, including several sitting judges, law firm associates, and colleagues from her service in the public defender's office. They unanimously praise Judge Boardman's courtroom skills as a litigator, in particular praising her courtroom presence, sharp legal and analytical skills in both written and legal advocacy, and her high level of professionalism, excellent temperament, and unfailing courtesy to all parties.
As a person, I have repeatedly been told by those who know her well that Judge Boardman is the best kind of person to be a judge. She is smart, patient, kind, and tough when she needs to be. She is a hard worker. She sees all sides of an argument and is always fair and professional in her treatment of others.
I was delighted to recommend the nomination of Judge Boardman to President Biden, along with Senator Van Hollen. Judicial nominees must meet the highest standard of integrity, competency, and temperament. Judge Boardman will safeguard the rights of all Marylanders and all Americans, uphold the Constitution and rule of law, and faithfully follow the judicial oath to do equal right to the poor and to the rich. I am confident that Judge Boardman will serve the people of Maryland very well once she is confirmed.
I urge my colleagues to vote for the confirmation of Judge Boardman, who is an outstanding judicial nominee from Maryland. She is already a sitting U.S. magistrate judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, where she has served with district judges. I look forward to her continued public service to Maryland and to the Nation.
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