Mr. President, today I wish to discuss the current judicial vacancy crisis. We have in many instances abrogated our responsibility to advise and consent in the nomination process. An estimated 160 million people live in districts with a courtroom vacancy that could have been filled last year with the cooperation of Senate Republicans. There are currently 20 nominees who have been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee or are waiting a simple up-or-down vote which Republicans have historically supported. One of these nominees is Ronnie Abrams. Ms. Abrams was nominated in July of 2011 by President Obama to serve as a Federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She is currently a lawyer with the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell. She is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, teaching a seminar on the investigation and prosecution of Federal criminal cases. Prior to her current positions, Ms. Abrams distinguished herself as a prosecutor, rising to deputy chief, Criminal Division, at the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York. As deputy chief, she supervised over 160 prosecutors in cases involving violent crimes, white-collar crimes, public corruption, narcotics trafficking, and computer crimes. In recognition of her service, she was awarded the Department of Justice Director's Award for Superior Performance as a Federal Prosecutor. Ms.…
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