Laphonza Butler Questions Judicial Nominee About How Diversity Will Inform His Staffing Decisions

4 months ago

At today's Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) questioned Embry J. Kidd, nominee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit, about his plans to staff his court.

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Transcript

00:00 Thank you to your family for their support and sacrifice.

00:05 And to your young son who looks as about as interested

00:10 in this hearing as others.

00:14 Thank you, thank you all for coming

00:19 and thank you for your service to this point.

00:22 I am interested in probing a bit and understanding

00:26 how you would think about the staffing of your court

00:31 and how some of the experiences that you submitted

00:36 in your materials might inform that.

00:40 To that point, as a historically black college graduate

00:43 myself, I note that you have spent some time

00:47 at Florida A&M as an adjunct professor.

00:51 Can you share with us the learnings, lessons,

00:56 offered to you by those sort of aspiring legal scholars

01:01 and how it would help you to think about the roles necessary

01:07 and diversity necessary to be a part of your court?

01:10 - Yes, Senator, thank you.

01:13 I do have the privilege of serving as an adjunct professor

01:16 at Florida A&M University College of Law,

01:19 which as you recognize is a historically black college

01:22 or university.

01:23 It actually is directly across the street

01:26 from the US courthouse.

01:27 So that was really part of my effort

01:31 to help get those students who come,

01:34 many of whom come from very non-traditional backgrounds,

01:39 some economically disadvantaged backgrounds,

01:42 to enter federal court.

01:44 Because one thing that I noticed as a prosecutor

01:47 in the court and then as a judge

01:48 is that we didn't see the students very often.

01:50 So I started the federal practice course.

01:53 We would meet every week in my courtroom

01:57 and I would introduce them to federal judges

02:00 and practitioners and we'd have those conversations,

02:04 which I think is important in terms of exposing

02:08 those students and others to federal practice,

02:11 which in some ways can be intimidating

02:14 and we often see people from a certain background.

02:19 We don't see people very often who come from places

02:22 like Florida A&M University.

02:24 So I wanted to provide that exposure to the students

02:26 and it's really been a great learning experience.

02:29 And it's impacted the way that I staff my chambers.

02:34 For instance, I have conversations with students

02:36 and potential clerks about clerking

02:39 and why they haven't thought about clerking

02:41 or applying to be a clerkship, applying to a clerkship.

02:43 And one thing that I learned is that for many of them,

02:47 which should come as no surprise,

02:48 they have a very heavy loan burden.

02:50 And taking a year off instead of going to private practice,

02:53 but coming to clerk, can present a financial challenge,

02:57 but especially, which is common at the time

03:01 I started a two-year clerkship.

03:02 So that would be two years of that challenge.

03:04 So now my standard is to do a one-year clerkship

03:07 that can be extended, but I think in that way

03:10 I've broadened the pool of applicants

03:12 that I get for my clerkships.

03:14 - I appreciate that.

03:16 This one last question, Mr. Chair,

03:18 and I will yield my time.

03:20 I meet you at a place of being from a small town.

03:26 Birmingham is not small compared to Magnolia, Mississippi.

03:30 But the states that are a part of the 11th district,

03:36 11th Circuit actually do encompass a variety

03:41 of residents in geographical diversity,

03:45 ensuring fair and adequate access to the law

03:50 feels essential for a circuit

03:54 that is so geographically diverse.

03:57 Can you talk about how, from the experience

04:00 that you have had as a magistrate judge,

04:02 how it is that you approach ensuring fair,

04:07 adequate, and competent,

04:15 justice, and so that litigants actually understand

04:19 the positions that you are offering

04:21 and conclusions that you're coming to?

04:24 - Yes, Senator, and to clarify, I was born in Birmingham,

04:26 but I was raised in Vincent, which has about 3,000 people.

04:30 So we'll have to talk about who comes from the smaller town.

04:33 But we, as a current judge,

04:38 I take that issue very seriously

04:41 'cause we have a lot of pro se individuals

04:44 and their case is very important to them

04:47 as for any litigant, but they are often

04:50 not well-versed in the law.

04:52 So I particularly take an interest in those

04:55 and I'll often bring them into the courtroom

04:57 to try to explain the process for moving their case forward.

05:00 And I've had some cases where the litigants

05:04 were ultimately successful and sometimes they just need

05:08 a little help understanding how the process works.

05:11 If I were to be confirmed to the 11th Circuit,

05:13 I would continue to do that.

05:15 I had the great fortune of clerking for Judge Gregory

05:19 on the 4th Circuit and he took a particular interest also

05:22 in those sorts of pro se cases, the prisoner litigation,

05:26 just giving them a closer look, making sure that

05:28 their valid claims are actually heard by the court.

05:33 And that's something that I would continue to do.

05:36 - Thanks, Senator Butler.

05:38 The senior senator from California, Senator Padilla.

Laphonza Butler Questions Judicial Nominee About How Diversity Will Inform His Staffing Decisions

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