Nomination Of Justice Barbara Keenan

Floor Speech

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, in the summer of 2009, Senator Webb and I had the honor of interviewing several potential candidates to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. We were enormously impressed by the quality of all the candidates being considered. But one candidate rose to the top of the list for her extensive experience, judicial temperament, and commitment to the law. This candidate was Justice Barbara Keenan.

President Obama nominated Justice Keenan on September 14, 2009. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the nomination where members of the committee were given the opportunity to engage Justice Keenan in a question-and-answer session. On October 29, 2009, the members of the committee reported the nomination by unanimous consent.

Justice Keenan's nomination has been on the Senate Calendar for 4 months now. I believe it is time for this Chamber to consider the nomination and give Justice Keenan an up-or-down vote.

Justice Keenan has strong academic credentials. She graduated from Cornell University in 1971 and received her law degree from the George Washington University Law School in 1974. She also earned a master of laws degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1992.

Justice Keenan has served with distinction at every level of State court in Virginia. She has served as a justice on the Virginia Supreme Court since 1991. She also served on the Fairfax County General District Court, the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, and the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Earlier in her career, Justice Keenan worked as an assistant prosecutor in Fairfax and briefly worked as an attorney in private practice.

The Virginia State Bar Judicial Nominations Committee ranked Justice Keenan as ``highly qualified.'' She was one of the few candidates to receive a unanimous vote.

The committee noted in the summary of her evaluation that ``..... it would be a shame to lose Justice Keenan's skills on the Supreme Court of Virginia, but Senators Webb and Warner could do no better than her appointment to the Fourth Circuit .....'' The committee also found that Justice Keenan has exhibited excellent judicial temperament, has the highest integrity, and concluded that she has superior intellect and legal skills for the position.

In addition to the Virginia State Bar, Justice Keenan was considered ``highly recommended'' or ``highly qualified'' by the Virginia Women Attorney's Association, the Old Dominion Bar Association, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

I must also mention that Justice Keenan is the first woman appointed to the bench in Virginia and one of the initial 10 appointees to the Virginia Court of Appeals following its creation in 1985.

Six weeks ago Justice Keenan was the first woman to administer the oath of office to a Virginia Governor, Gov. Bob McDonnell.

In May, Virginia Lawyers Weekly named Justice Keenan as the ``influential woman of the year'' for ``a litany of first and years of service.''

I look forward to casting my vote in support of Justice Barbara Keenan's nomination and encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.

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