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Floor Speech
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Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, last fall, Senator Wyden and I had the privilege of introducing Judge Mustafa Kasubhai to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Judge Kasubhai is unquestionably qualified to be the next U.S. district judge for the District of Oregon. I know that he will do an exceptional job for the people of our State and the people of the United States under the vision of equal justice for all.
His record on the bench reflects his commitment to the U.S. Constitution, to the rule of law, and to precedent.
I will quote the judge directly. He said:
I have presided over 5,000 matters in my judicial career, and I have issued over 400 written opinions as a United States Magistrate Judge. My judicial opinions have been upheld over ninety percent of the time.
Some in this Chamber have asked: But is the judge in the mainstream?
Absolutely you are in the mainstream when you have that type of stellar record.
It is no surprise that he brings support from across Oregon, from across the legal profession, and from across the political spectrum to his judicial nomination.
He has been endorsed with the ``full support'' of the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police for his unwavering commitment to supporting crime victims and law enforcement, which, in the police chief's opinion, ``make him an exemplary candidate for this esteemed position.''
He brings bipartisan support. He was nominated by President Biden, and his nomination has been endorsed by appointees of both President George Bush and President Donald J. Trump. President Bush's appointee, a senior judge for the U.S. district court of Oregon, called Judge Kasubhai ``the very soul of fairness.''
Let me tell you about the judge some things that Oregon has known for more than 30 years. His leadership in the law has been grounded in public service since he served as president of the Student Bar Association at the University of Oregon School of Law.
After graduation, he went into private practice--not in a high-rise downtown, working for a big corporation, but serving ordinary folks in small towns and rural communities in southern and eastern Oregon. He has seen firsthand the day-to-day difficulties working families face in these rural areas.
He brings to the bench a sense of fairness and justice for all. Shouldn't that be the foundation for a judge, that they really understand the perspective of justice for all--not justice for the powerful, not justice for the billionaires, justice for all?
His service to Oregon and leadership in the law only increased in the following years, serving as a member of the Oregon Workers' Compensation Board, serving as a judge on the Lane County Circuit Court until, in 2018, he was elected by the active and senior Federal court judges of the District of Oregon to serve alongside them as a U.S. magistrate judge. When you are elected by other judges, you are a judge's judge. It says a lot about how highly he is respected.
He was honored in 2022 with the Wallace P. Carson Award for Judicial Excellence, which recognizes those who make exemplary contributions to Oregon's judiciary.
He is a standout judicial nominee with sterling credentials, an exemplary record, endorsement of law enforcement, and bipartisan support. He has earned the respect and admiration of his peers and colleagues. He is an outspoken champion for justice for all, a fierce believer in our democratic republic, and a passionate defender of the rule of law.
When he visited Washington last fall, he told me he went to the National Archives to, in his words, ``pay tribute'' to the Constitution. He just wanted to see an original copy of the Constitution directly.
So it is with some pride in his record in Oregon and a substantial amount of admiration for his service to the people of our State and the service he will give to the people of our Nation that I urge my colleagues to support Judge Mustafa Kasubhai to be the next U.S. district judge for the District of Oregon.
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