Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Latest Judiciary Committee Hearing On Five Judicial Nominations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Ryan Young Park, nominated to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit; Byron B. Conway, nominated to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin; Jonathan E. Hawley, nominated to be United States District Judge for the Central District of Illinois; April M. Perry, nominated to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois; and Gail A. Weilheimer, nominated to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Durbin began the hearing by introducing Judge Jonathan E. Hawley, nominated to be a United States District Judge for the Central District of Illinois. 

Key Quotes:

“Judge Hawley earned his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his J.D. from DePaul [University College of Law].  Following law school, he clerked on the Illinois Third District Appellate Court, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, and the Illinois Supreme Court.”

“In 1999, he joined the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District, becoming the Chief Federal Public Defender in 2011.  He litigated over 300 appeals in the Seventh Circuit, directly supervised more than 1,000 appeals, and filed two briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“He [Judge Hawley was] selected to serve as a magistrate judge in the Central District in 2014.  In 2023, Chief Judge Sara Darrow appointed Judge Hawley to serve as Executive Magistrate Judge for the Central District.  Since joining the bench, he has presided over 26 trials that have gone to verdict or judgment.  The American Bar Association finds him unanimously well-qualified for this position.”

Durbin then introduced Ms. April M. Perry, nominated to be a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.

Key Quotes:

“Ms. Perry received her B.S. and her J.D. from Northwestern University, clerked for Judge [Joel] Flaum on the Seventh Circuit, [and served] as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois for more than a decade.”

“In addition to investigating and prosecuting a broad range of criminal cases, she served as the Civil Rights and Hate Crimes Coordinator, the Project Safe Childhood and Violence Against Women Act Coordinator, and the Narcotics and Gangs Deputy Chief.”

“Following her time in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Perry served as the Chief Deputy State’s Attorney & Chief Ethics Officer in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office…  [Since 2021], Ms. Perry has served as a Hearing Officer on the Chicago Police Board, acting as an independent and impartial authority for administrative matters before the board.  Over the course of her legal career, Perry has tried 26 federal felony cases, almost all of which were jury trials.”

“[Ms. Perry] was also found unanimously well-qualified for this position by the American Bar Association.”

Durbin concluded his introduction by introducing Mr. Ryan Young Park, nominated to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit.

Key Quotes:

“[Mr. Park] received his B.A., with distinction, from Amherst College and his J.D., summa cum laude, from Harvard Law School.  He served as a law clerk to Judge Jed S. Rakoff on the Southern District of New York, Judge Robert A. Katzmann on the Second Circuit, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Justice David H. Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“Mr. Park then entered private practice before being appointed to serve as Deputy Solicitor General of North Carolina in 2017.  In 2020, Mr. Park was appointed to serve as Solicitor General of North Carolina.  In this role, he has presented argument in more than 30 appeals, including ten times in the U.S. Courts of Appeals and twice in the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“Mr. Park’s work as Solicitor General of North Carolina has earned him support from a wide range of law enforcement organizations, including the national Fraternal Order of Police and the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association.  [I understand that] a number of law enforcement officers are here in the audience and personally supporting Mr. Park’s nomination.”

“In addition, Mr. Park has the support of a bipartisan group of district attorneys in North Carolina, a bipartisan group of his fellow Supreme Court law clerks, including those who have clerked for Justices with a different political philosophy than Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and a bipartisan group of current and former state solicitors general.” 

Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.

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