Political Quotes

“I wish to speak in opposition to the nomination of Paula Xinis to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. By all accounts, she is a nice person and has a number of admirers. I don't question her integrity. I had an exchange with her at the Judiciary Committee hearing when she came before the committee. I think this nominee has perhaps the most hostile record toward police of any I have seen in a long time. Her background is troubling to me, and I believe it justifies us not allowing her to have a lifetime appointment where she is unaccountable to anyone as she conducts her daily duties involving, on a very frequent basis, the appearance of police before her in criminal cases of all kinds. She would even hear cases against police officers for misconduct that may come before her over her career. I was a prosecutor for almost 15 years in Federal court before Federal judges. I was blessed to appear before Federal judges of high quality who gave the prosecutor a fair trial and gave the defendant a fair trial, and that is what we are looking for. I am aware of a lot of Federal judges who have a clear bias against law enforcement and have made the communities less safe, made prosecuting a nightmare, and I don't believe it is good for the legal system. There is nothing you can do about it. A judge can declare that the evidence is insufficient to convict on his or her own motion which nobody can appeal.…”