Despite GOP criticism, judge nominee nears confirmation

Connecticut federal bench hopeful faces questions over letter

Quinnipiac law professor Sarah Russell’s nomination to the federal court took another beating from Senate Republicans in Washington on Thursday over a letter she signed calling for the mass release of criminals from prisons and jails during the COVID pandemic.

Russell was not in person at what amounted to her second appearance before the committee. Following her acrimonious, in-person, first appearance in November, Republicans succeeded in blocking her nomination from moving to the floor for a vote. President

Biden resubmitted her nomination a week ago, leading to Thursday’s hearing.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz led the Republican attack Monday, using an easel and charts to attack the 2020 letter Russell signed with 1,500 others, a letter she said she could not recall at her first appearance and failed to submit to the committee under its records request.

“It is easy to see why she would want to forget this letter,” Cruz said. “The letter demanded that due to COVID, the governor of Connecticut should ‘immediately release to the maximum extent possible people incarcerated pre-trial and post conviction.’ In other words, let everyone out.

“The people of Connecticut would be horrified to know that a woman who called on the governor to release violent criminals is now going to be a federal judge with the power to release violent criminals into their community. This is not mainstream. This is extreme.”

Connecticut U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal tried to defend Russell.

“There is nothing new here,” Blumenthal said. “This committee has already heard these allegations and more. This nominee is extraordinarily well qualified as a scholar, a litigator, a teacher, over decades. And that is the reason why the people of Connecticut do strongly support her nomination and why President Biden commendably has nominated her.”

“As to this letter, Sarah Russell has disavowed the views in it. She has told this committee that signing it was a mistake. It was overbroad. She didn’t write it. She didn’t edit it. She doesn’t agree with its views. And maybe I’m the only one on this committee, but there are a few letters I’ve signed that I look back and said, ‘Gee, maybe not such a good idea.’ She was among 1,500 signatories.”

At the end of the committee meeting, Russell was approved for second time by an 11-10 party line vote, meaning her nomination again moves to the full Senate, which Democrats narrowly control by a 51-49 margin, for a confirmation vote.

Carl Tobias, a law professor who tracks federal judicial nominations at the University of Richmond, called the Republican criticism expected and probably of no consequence. He predicted the Senate will confirm the Russell nomination by a narrow vote in coming weeks.

Russell’s nomination is supported by a number of groups, including The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which said Thursday that her “significant experience rooting out disparities in the criminal-legal system and protecting the rights of all people — including her critical work as a public defender — will greatly benefit the District of Connecticut and add incredibly valuable perspectives to the judiciary.”

Russell is a law professor at Quinnipiac University who has taught at Yale University and worked as a public defender in federal court. She is part of the cohort of federal judges nominated by Biden, who called on the senate at the start of his term to confirm federal judges that diversity the court by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and professional background.