Nomination of Veronica S. Rossman

Floor Speech

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Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I rise to speak about Veronica Rossman, President Biden's nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Ms. Rossman comes to this floor with broad legal experience and a sterling reputation in Colorado. Veronica cares deeply about justice and the rule of law because she knows what it means to live without it.

Veronica was born in Russia, where her family faced anti-Semitism at every turn. Her grandparents couldn't openly practice their faith because they feared retaliation at work. Her father was a brilliant career scientist who was routinely denied promotions. Her mother, a talented pianist and music teacher, never openly shared her faith until the family fled Russia.

In the end, Veronica's parents knew that anti-Semitism would stand in the way of her enormous potential, and they wanted her to grow up with a freedom that they never enjoyed. And like so many others in our country's history, Veronica and her family came to America as political refugees.

And from virtually nothing, Veronica built a distinguished legal career. She worked hard and earned a BA from Columbia University, and then a JD from the University of California at Hastings.

She clerked for Justice William Maupin of the Nevada Supreme Court, who could say not enough about her brilliant legal mind. Veronica then practiced appellate litigation at Morrison & Foerster, where she worked on one of the largest international patent cases in history.

Later, she served as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and taught for 3 years at the University of Denver as a visiting professor of law.

In private practice, Veronica specialized in complex civil litigation and handled cases about everything from antitrust law to intellectual property law.

At this point, Veronica could have pursued any number of high-paying legal jobs, but, instead, she became a Federal public defender for the districts of Colorado and Wyoming.

And over the past 12 years, Ms. Rossman developed rare expertise as an appellate specialist, handling direct criminal appeals from every judicial district in the Tenth Circuit.

In her time as a public defender, she has handled or supervised over 100 appellate matters before the Tenth Circuit. She has represented more than 250 indigent clients--from controversial defendants to people sentenced to long terms for a nonviolent offense, even though they had no criminal history.

She fought for every one of those Americans, often against long odds. But more than that, she fought for the American ideal that everyone deserves equal justice under the law.

If confirmed, Veronica would be the only judge on the Tenth Circuit with experience as a public defender. We need more judges like Veronica, who are not only highly qualified, but who know what it means to be on the wrong end of the legal system that too often fails the most vulnerable in our society.

I know some of my Republican colleagues worry about confirming public defenders because they don't know that much about civil procedure. I don't share that view. But in Veronica's case, it doesn't apply anyway. When she was in private practice, as I mentioned, she worked exclusively on civil matters. She taught civil procedure at the University of Denver.

And some others have suggested that public defenders bring in an ideological agenda to the bench. In Veronica's case, that couldn't be further from the truth. Her family's story has proven her profound appreciation for how, at its best, the rule of law is an antidote to the arbitrary administration of law based on prejudice.

And you don't have to take my word for it. Here is what she told the Judiciary Committee under oath. She said:

[I]f confirmed. . . . In every case, I will treat all litigants respectfully and impartially;. . . . I will carefully review the record on appeal; I will put aside any personal views; I will faithfully adhere to the rule of law.

Ms. Rossman's qualifications are obvious. She has been a first-rate lawyer, and she would make a first-rate judge. That is why the Judiciary Committee sent her to the floor with a bipartisan vote. Now I hope all of us can come together and confirm this outstanding nominee.

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