Patrick Leahy: “I compliment the Republican leadership for finally agreeing to move to the nomination of Roger Titus, who has been…”

“I compliment the Republican leadership for finally agreeing to move to the nomination of Roger Titus, who has been cleared on this side for some time. The nominee has won universal acclaim as a member of the Maryland bar. In fact, it was suggested that he was going to be nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. It would have been a consensus where both Republicans and Democrats would have agreed. I wish the administration had done that. Instead, they have moved him to fill this seat. It is not a confrontational one for the circuit. In any event, he should be supported. He will make the 168th judicial nominee of President Bush's to be confirmed, which sets an all-time record for this time in a President's term in office, surpassing even that of President Reagan, when we had a Republican majority. Mr. Titus has been an active litigator in Maryland for over 37 years, and has litigated hundreds of cases, both civil and criminal. He has been a partner at the Venable law firm and is a former president of the Maryland Bar Association. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Titus earned a unanimous "well-qualified" rating from the ABA, and an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell.”