Tag: senate

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NAPABA Warns Against Hateful and Divisive Political Rhetoric and Calls for National Unity to Stem the Tide of Hate

For Immediate Release:
Date: September 24, 2024		Contact:
Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director

WASHINGTON – Today, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) submitted a written statement for the record to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee that highlighted the dangers of divisive, reckless rhetoric and called on leaders to guard against the continuing demonization of immigrants and communities of color. During the Committee’s hearing on September 17, 2024, entitled, “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America,” a senator baselessly accused one of the witnesses, Maya Berry, an Arab American civil rights leader, of supporting foreign terrorist organizations. Despite the witness clearly and repeatedly stating that she did not support such organizations, the senator continued to interrogate her relentlessly.

“We have seen this playbook before, unfortunately, and members of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community are no stranger to such offensive, differential treatment solely because of their national origin or religion,” observed Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “For example, in this same Committee nine months ago, Adeel Mangi, a nominee to be a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, also endured hostile treatment based solely on his religion. Our national leaders must do better to avoid dangerous rhetoric, which can lead to horrific results in our communities if left unchecked.”

“The disturbing episode involving Maya Berry is reminiscent of the historical experience of so many members of the AANHPI community being labeled as ‘perpetual foreigners,’” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “In recent years, we have seen states throughout the country introduce and enact restrictions on the property rights of Asian Americans, and during this hearing, the Committee heard testimony of the rise of hate against Asian Americans following the false scapegoating against them during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Especially in this political season, NAPABA’s statement called on leaders to “avoid the reckless rhetoric” and on all Americans to “unite in common cause to tackle our Nation’s problems together.”

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 80,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.

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NAPABA Applauds the Confirmation of Judge Sanket J. Bulsara to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York


For Immediate Release: 
Date: May 15, 2024 		Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director

WASHINGTON – Today, the United States Senate confirmed Judge Sanket J. Bulsara to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

“NAPABA congratulates Judge Sanket J. Bulsara to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “An experienced U.S. Magistrate Judge since 2017, Judge Bulsara is an active member of NAPABA and our affiliate, the Asian American Bar Association of New York. We are pleased to have supported Judge Bulsara throughout the confirmation process.”

Judge Sanket J. Bulsara has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York since 2017. From January 2017 to May 2017, Judge Bulsara served as the Acting General Counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where he had been the Deputy General Counsel for Appellate Litigation, Adjudication, and Enforcement since 2015. Prior to that, Judge Bulsara worked at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr L.L.P. as an associate from 2005 to 2008, a counsel from 2009 to 2011, and a partner from 2012 to 2015. For six months between 2007 and 2008, he served as a Special Assistant District Attorney at the Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney’s Office, and he worked as an associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson L.L.P. in Los Angeles, California from 2003 to 2004. Judge Bulsara served as a law clerk for Judge John G. Koeltl on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2002 to 2003. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 2002 and his A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1998.

“AANHPIs are the fastest growing racial and ethnic demographic in the country. NAPABA is grateful that President Biden and the United States Senate advanced a record-breaking 35 confirmed AANHPI judges,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “NAPABA will continue our work to build the pipeline of judicial candidates, particularly in Districts and Circuits where there are growing AANHPI populations without representation.”

NAPABA thanks President Biden for nominating Judge Bulsara, and we thank Leader Schumer and Senator Gillibrand for supporting his nomination.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 80,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.

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NAPABA Applauds the Confirmation of Judge Edward S. Kiel and Judge Eumi K. Lee to the U.S. District Court


For Immediate Release: 
Date: March 21, 2024 		Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the United States Senate confirmed Judge Edward S. Kiel to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and Judge Eumi K. Lee to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

“We congratulate Judge Edward S. Kiel and Judge Eumi K. Lee on their confirmation to serve on the U.S. District Court,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “Judge Kiel is the first Korean American to serve in the district, a 2010 NAPABA Trailblazer awardee, and an active member of the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey. Judge Lee was the first Korean American to serve as president of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, and she was a recipient of the 2011 NAPABA Best Under 40 Award. We are exceptionally proud of their commitment to the AANHPI community and are pleased to have supported their nominations.”

“Today, President Biden has appointed 34 AANHPI Article III judges that the U.S. Senate has confirmed. His record of 23 AANHPI Article III women judges confirmed is more than all Presidents combined,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA.

Judge Edward S. Kiel has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey since 2019. Previously, Judge Kiel was a partner at Cole Schotz, P.C., from 2001 to 2019. Before that, he was an associate at Cole Schotz from 1998 to 2001, at Beattie Padovano from 1994 to 1998, and at Jamieson Moore Peskin & Spicer from 1992 to 1994. Judge Kiel served as a law clerk for Presiding Criminal Judge Michael R. Imbriani of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Somerset County, from 1991 to 1992. He received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School in 1991 and his B.A. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University in 1988.

Judge Lee has served as a judge on the Superior Court of California in Alameda County since 2018. She was the first Korean American judge ever appointed to the court in Alameda County. Previously, Judge Lee was a Clinical Professor of Law at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, and co-founded and co-directed the Hastings Institute for Criminal Justice. Earlier in her career, she was an associate at Keker & Van Nest LLP and Thelen, Reid & Priest LLP. Judge Lee clerked for Judge Warren J. Ferguson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Jerome Turner on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from Pomona College.

NAPABA thanks New Jersey and California Senators for supporting their nominations.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.

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TRANSCRIPT: Majority Leader Schumer Remarks at Senate Judiciary Committee Introducing Sanket Bulsara, Nominee To Be District Judge For The Eastern District Of New York

For Immediate Release

Date: March 6, 2024

CONTACT:  Alex Nguyen (Schumer), [email protected]

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee, introducing Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara, nominated by President Biden to serve as District Judge for the Eastern District of New York. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank you Ranking Member Graham, my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee. As you know, I enjoyed serving my time on the committee, both for sixteen years in the House and sixteen years in the Senate on the Judiciary Committee

So, I’m honored to come before the committee today to introduce a truly remarkable nominee, Sanket Bulsara, who I was proud to recommend to President Biden to serve as a District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, which includes Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. That’s seven million people in that one district.

Judge Bulsara made history in 2017 as the first South Asian American judge to serve in any court within the Second Circuit when he was appointed the Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District.

New York’s South Asian population is one of the fastest growing in New York and in America, I think. We’re very proud to have more South Asians in the New York metropolitan area than anywhere else, and they’re great, hard-working, family-oriented, law-abiding, great people and we love them. I try to make the bench look more like New York and more like America, and this is one example of that.

Before I begin, I want to take a moment to recognize Judge Bulsara’s wife, Chrissy DeLorenzo, a professor at one of the great medical schools in New York, Stony Brook, and she is with us here this morning, as you can see.

Judge Bulsara is – I’ll forgive him – a Bronx boy, but Chrissy is from Brooklyn so he likes to say he married into Brooklyn.

I also understand that Judge’s Bulsara’s parents, Jay and Aruna, are watching the hearing live from Los Angeles.

And Judge Bulsara’s in-laws, Tom and Loretta, are also watching live from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I’m sure they’re proud too.

Judge Bulsara is the epitome of the American Dream: a proud son of hard-working immigrant parents from India and Kenya who taught him the value of public service at an early age. His father was an engineer for the City of New York for 33 years, who not only raised his son to be a good Yankees fan, but even worked on the renovations of the original Yankee stadium in 1974. Before the renovations, I often got the cheap seats where you sat behind a pole, but they didn’t have that in the new stadium. His mother went to community college at night to become a nurse working with patients in low-income communities.

So, Judge Bulsara’s parents dedicated their lives to public service. I know he’s proud to be following in their footsteps. These are the great American Dream stories. We hear them every day in New York and around the country. It makes us so proud and so optimistic about the future of our country, which I am.

Judge Bulsara has all the qualities of a first-rate jurist. His colleagues and peers have praised his “excellent judgment” and he has been described by those who know him well as brilliant, ethical, even-keeled, energetic, hard-working. Those are some of the words my judicial panel used when they met him.

His credentials are undeniable: he’s a graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law, he clerked for Judge John Koeltl of the Southern District of New York. After years in private practice, he worked to protect investors and our community’s financial markets at the SEC, where he served as Acting General Counsel in 2017.

Judge Bulsara also has a broad range of pro-bono work, and has been recognized for his outstanding representation of victims of domestic violence. He’s also worked to defend the rights of the incarcerated and individuals on death row.

And, again, he made history in 2017 as the first South Asian American federal judge on any court in the Second Circuit when he was appointed the Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of New York, where he served honorably since. I’ve appointed great people to that bench.

In short, Mr. Chairman, our courts need more people like Sanket Bulsara.

The Democratic Majority has been very proud of confirming scores of highly qualified, diverse judges– nearly 180 judges in fact –to the federal bench. Thank you, Chairman Durbin and Ranking Member Graham, and everyone else who has cooperated to help us reach that number.

These judges are reshaping the judiciary for the better, not only by making our courts look more like America, but by restoring trust and balance on the bench through their broad range of experience. I am confident that Judge Bulsara will serve with distinction. That’s why I’m proud to support his nomination.

I want to thank the Judge and his wife for being here. I want to thank the members of the committee once again and my colleagues on the committee for the opportunity to be here today. And I look forward to working with you to confirm more judges in the weeks and months ahead. Thank you.

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NAPABA Applauds the Confirmation of Judge Loren L. AliKhan to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia


For Immediate Release: 
Date: December 5, 2023 		Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy 

WASHINGTON – Today, the United States Senate confirmed Judge Loren L. AliKhan to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge AliKhan is the first South Asian American woman to serve on this court.

“NAPABA congratulates Judge AliKhan on her confirmation,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “A former Solicitor General for the District and Judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Judge AliKhan will bring a wealth of experience in her service to the residents of Washington, DC on the U.S. District Court.”

“Judge AliKhan is the second Asian American that President Biden has nominated and confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “Today, President Biden has increased his record-breaking benchmark with 29 AANHPI Article III judges that the U.S. Senate has confirmed. We thank President Biden for nominating Judge AliKhan, and Delegate Norton for recommending her.”

Judge AliKhan was the first Asian American judge to sit on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Before her confirmation, she served as the Solicitor General of the District of Columbia, where she directed the District’s appellate litigation and has overseen more than 1,800 appeals before the D.C. Court of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge AliKhan has the support of NAPABA’s affiliate, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington DC Area. She has been recognized with the Public Sector Trailblazer Award by the South Asian Bar Association of Washington D.C. and previously clerked for the Hon. Thomas L. Ambro on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and Judge Louis H. Pollak on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Judge AliKhan is a graduate of Bard College at Simon’s Rock and the Georgetown University Law Center.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.

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NAPABA Applauds the Nomination of Judge Loren L. AliKhan and Susan K. DeClercq to the U.S. District Court 


For Immediate Release: 
Date: May 3, 2023 		Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director

WASHINGTON – Today, President Biden nominated Judge Loren L. AliKhan to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Susan K. DeClercq to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. If confirmed, Judge AliKhan would be the first South Asian woman to serve on U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the only active AAPI woman judge on that court. Ms. DeClercq would be the first federal judge of East Asian descent in Michigan.

“NAPABA congratulates Judge AliKhan and Susan DeClercq on their nominations,” said Sandra Leung, president of NAPABA. “Judge AliKhan is a highly respected jurist with exceptional service to the citizens of Washington DC. Ms. DeClercq is an experienced prosecutor with experience in both private practice and corporate law. We applaud President Biden for nominating this slate of highly qualified AAPI nominees. We urge the Senate to confirm them swiftly.”

President Biden nominated Judge AliKhan to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on September 21, 2021, and the U.S. Senate confirmed her with bi-partisan support on February 22, 2022. Upon her confirmation, Judge AliKhan was the first AAPI judge to sit on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Before her confirmation, she served as the Solicitor General of the District of Columbia, where she directed the District’s appellate litigation and has overseen more than 1,800 appeals before the D.C. Court of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge AliKhan has the support of NAPABA’s affiliate, the  Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington DC Region. She has been recognized with the Public Sector Trailblazer Award by the South Asian Bar Association of Washington D.C. and previously clerked for the Hon. Thomas L. Ambro on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Hon. Louis Pollack on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. AliKhan is a graduate of Bard College at Simon’s Rock and the Georgetown University Law Center.

Susan K. DeClercq has been Director and Counsel of Special Investigations at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan since 2022. Ms. DeClercq previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Civil Division since March 2014. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in September 2004, Ms. DeClercq was an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom in Washington, D.C., and she clerked for Judge Avern Cohn on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Ms. DeClercq received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Wayne State University School of Law in 1999 and her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1995.

NAPABA thanks Senators Stabenow and Peters of Michigan and Delegate Norton of Washington, D.C., for recommending and supporting these nominees.

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NAPABA Applauds the Confirmation of Judge Wesley L. Hsu to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

For Immediate Release: 
Date: May 4, 2023 		Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director

WASHINGTON – On May 4, the Senate confirmed Judge Wesley L. Hsu to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California by a vote of 53 to 43.

“NAPABA congratulates Judge Hsu on his confirmation to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California,” said Sandra Leung, president of NAPABA. “Judge Hsu, a 2005 NAPABA Best Lawyers Under 40 awardee, has shown strong leadership in his professional career and volunteer work with the AAPI community. We are proud to have supported Judge Hsu’s nomination and are delighted he was confirmed.”

Judge Hsu has an extensive legal career spanning nearly three decades. He previously served in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2017. Before he was appointed a judge, Hsu served for 17 years as the Executive United States Attorney and Deputy United States Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney in the Central District of California. He has clerked for the Hon. Mariana R. Pfaelzer of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and he has experience in the private sector from his time at a private law firm.

“President Biden has appointed 19 out of the 52 AAPI active Article III judges,” said Priya Purandare, executive director of NAPABA. “Today, as we head into the 31st Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we celebrate a judiciary more reflective of the people it serves.”

In addition to his professional work, Judge Hsu is active in his community as a member of the Board of Governors for the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance, a Founding Member of NAPABA’s Government Enforcement and Compliance Committee, and NAPABA’s Data Security and Privacy Committee, and a Co-Chair of the California Asian Pacific American Judges Association. His service to the AAPI community has been recognized by NAPABA with its Best Lawyers Under 40. Judge Hsu has served as an adjunct professor at Loyola Marymount Law School and a writing instructor at the University of Southern California Law School and is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School.

NAPABA thanks President Biden for nominating Judge Hsu and Senators Feinstein and Padilla for supporting and recommending his nomination.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting APA communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.

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NAPABA Statement on the Senate Confirmation of Vanita Gupta

For Immediate Release: Date: April 21, 2021

Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director

WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) congratulates Vanita Gupta on her historic bipartisan confirmation by the Senate, to serve as Associate Attorney General in the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the third highest ranking position at the Department. She now becomes the most senior Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) leader at DOJ ever, and the first woman of color to serve as Associate Attorney General.

“NAPABA is thrilled that the Senate has confirmed Vanita Gupta to lead the DOJ’s efforts in the critical areas of civil rights, the environment, justice-oriented grant making, community policing, community relations, violence against women, tax enforcement, antitrust, and ensuring the rights of service members and veterans, among other responsibilities” said A. B. Cruz III, president of NAPABA. “Her tenure could not have come at a more pivotal time for so many populations of color and vulnerable people, especially as we face an onslaught of anti-Asian hate crimes and bias-motivated attacks against our communities.” 

NAPABA applauds President Biden for nominating Ms. Gupta to the position and the Senate for confirming her at this crucial time.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of approximately 50,000 legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of color in the legal profession.
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Congratulations to Hon. Lillian Wan, first Asian American woman in the New York State Court of Claims, confirmed by the New York State Senate on the evening of June 20, 2018. AABANY congratulates Judge Wan on this historic appointment. Please join us in wishing her every success in this next phase of Judge Wan’s judicial career.

Congratulations also to all the appointees confirmed by the New York State Senate on June 20:

  • JOEL M. COHEN 
  • JOHN R. HIGGITT 
  • FRANCIS A. KAHN III 
  • Hon. CHRIS ANN KELLEY 
  • DAVID L. LEWIS 
  • JAMES A. McCARTY, Jr. 
  • MICHELE SHARON RODNEY
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
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National Diverse Bar Associations Urge Senate to Hold Hearing and Vote on Supreme Court Nominee

For Immediate Release
March 10, 2016

For More Information, Contact​​:
Brett Schuster, Communications Manager
202-775-9555; [email protected]

Download: Press Release
Download: Letter to Senators Grassley and Leahy

WASHINGTON — Today, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), the National Bar Association (NBA), the National LGBT Bar Association (National LGBT Bar), and the National Native American Bar Association (NNABA) — representatives of diverse bar associations — submitted a joint letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) strongly urging the Senate to uphold its Constitutional duty by holding a fair hearing and timely vote on any Supreme Court nominee.

With a long history of supporting judicial nominees from both Democratic and Republican presidents, these five non-partisan organizations represent the interests of almost 200,000 lawyers, judges, and legal professionals of diverse backgrounds across the country.

As stated in the letter: “Delay in the Supreme Court’s ability to fulfill its duties caused by intentionally leaving the Court incomplete will have a direct impact on the legal rights of Americans, individuals and businesses of all backgrounds, across the country, and further erode public confidence in our legal system and in the functioning of our democracy.”

As professional legal membership organizations and representatives of diverse American attorneys, the five representative bar associations have consistently maintained that it is both the President’s and the Senate’s constitutional responsibility to ensure that our courts are fully functioning by nominating and fairly considering nominees as described in Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.

“With so much at stake, this is not the time to allow our highest court in the land to operate without a full bench,” said HNBA National President Robert T. Maldonado. “As our Constitution outlines, the President should nominate a candidate and the Senate carries the responsibility to vet and confirm. To not fill that seat would be a denial of justice. Let’s give the American people what they want: a fully-functioning judicial branch that gives everyone fair and equal protection under the law.”

“It is imperative that the Senate fulfill their constitutional obligations by giving the President’s nominee fair consideration and a timely vote,” said Jin Y. Hwang, NAPABA president. “By depriving this nation of a fully functioning Supreme Court, the Senate is not only ignoring their constitutional duty, but taking historically unprecedented action. The Senate must do the job they were elected to do and not hamper the effectiveness of the judiciary.”

“When the American People reelected President Obama in 2012 they placed trust in him perform the job of President of the United States. One function of the job includes nominating individuals to fill vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court. Senate Republicans are correct when they say that the American People should have a voice in the matter, but what they are forgetting is that the American People spoke twice, in 2008 and 2012 when they voted for President Obama. Senate Republicans not only must allow the President of the United States to do his job, but they also must perform their duties under the U.S. Constitution. It is unacceptable that Senate leaders have hindered the functionality of the Federal Court system by obstructing the nominations process,” added NBA President Benjamin L. Crump.

“Regardless of which political party currently holds power in either the Presidency or the Senate, both have a constitutional duty to ensure that the Supreme Court vacancy is filled in a timely manner,” said Eduardo Juarez, president of the National LGBT Bar Association. “We urge all parties involved to fill the vacancy to ensure a properly functioning judiciary. For the Senate to abdicate its constitutional duty to advise and consent is not only wrong, but it is unprecedented.”

“The desire for an accessible, fair judiciary is a cornerstone of our democracy,” said Linda Benally, NNABA president. “Indeed principal criticisms of the King of England in the Declaration of Independence were that he ‘obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers;’ that he ‘made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.’ The people decided, in the Constitution, the process for ensuring that such tyranny would never again burden the United States, conferring upon the President the obligation to nominate Justices to serve on the Supreme Court and obligating the Senate to counsel the President on such nominees. This is not a partisan issue; it is an issue of each duly-elected public official honoring the public’s trust and fulfilling his or her obligations to the people of the United States as set forth in the Constitution.”

The HNBA is an incorporated, not-for-profit, national membership organization that represents the interests of the more than 50,000 Hispanic attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistants, and law students in the United States and its territories. From the days of its founding three decades ago, the HNBA has acted as a force for positive change within the legal profession. It does so by encouraging Latino students to choose a career in the law and by prompting their advancement within the profession once they graduate and start practicing. Through a combination of issue advocacy, programmatic activities, networking events and educational conferences, the HNBA has helped generations of lawyers succeed.

NAPABA is the national association of Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 50,000 attorneys and over 75 national, state, and local bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA engages in legislative and policy advocacy, promotes APA political leadership and political appointments, and builds coalitions within the legal profession and the community at large. NAPABA also serves as a resource for government agencies, members of Congress, and public service organizations about APAs in the legal profession, civil rights, and diversity in the courts.

Founded in 1925, the NBA is the nation’s oldest and largest national network of minority attorneys and judges. It represents approximately 60,000 lawyers, judges, law professors and law students and has over 80 affiliate chapters throughout the United States and around the world. The organization seeks to advance the science of jurisprudence, preserve the independence of the judiciary and to uphold the honor and integrity of the legal profession. For additional information about the National Bar Association, visit www.nationalbar.org.

The National LGBT Bar Association is a national association of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals, law students, activists and affiliated lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal organizations. The LGBT Bar promotes justice in and through the legal profession for the LGBT community in all its diversity.

Founded in 1973, the NNABA serves as the national association for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NNABA strives for justice and effective legal representation for all American indigenous peoples; fosters the development of Native American lawyers and judges; and addresses social, cultural and legal issues affecting American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.

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