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73–394 DTP 2001

S. Hrg. 107–72

NOMINATIONS OF ERIK P. CHRISTIAN AND

MAURICE A. ROSS

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON THE

NOMINATIONS OF ERIK P. CHRISTIAN AND MAURICE A. ROSS TO BE

ASSOCIATE JUDGES OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF

COLUMBIA

MAY 22, 2001

Printed for the use of the Committee on Governmental Affairs

(

(II)

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

FRED THOMPSON, Tennessee, Chairman

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Ranking Democrat

TED STEVENS, Alaska

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio

PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi

JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire

ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah

CARL LEVIN, Michigan

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois

ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey

MAX CLELAND, Georgia

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware

JEAN CARNAHAN, Missouri

HANNAH S. SISTARE, Staff Director and Counsel

JOHANNA L. HARDY, Counsel

MASON C. ALINGER, Professional Staff Member, Oversight on Government Management,

Restructuring and the District of Columbia Subcommittee

JOYCE A. RECHTSCHAFFEN, Democratic Staff Director and Counsel

CYNTHIA R. GOOEN, Democratic Counsel

JASON M. YANUSSI, Democratic Professional Staff Member

MARIANNE CLIFFORD UPTON, Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel,

Oversight on Government Management, Restructuring

and the District of Columbia Subcommittee

DARLA D. CASSELL, Chief Clerk

(III)

C O N T E N T S

Page

Opening statements:

Senator Voinovich ............................................................................................. 1

WITNESSES

TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2001

Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Delegate in Congress from the District of

Columbia ............................................................................................................... 1

Erik P. Christian to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the

District of Columbia ............................................................................................. 3

Maurice A. Ross to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the

District of Columbia ............................................................................................. 4

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WITNESSES

Christian, Erik P.:

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 3

Biographical and financial information with attachments ........................... 9

Norton, Hon. Eleanor Holmes:

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 2

Ross, Maurice A.:

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 4

Biographical and financial information with attachments ........................... 91

(1)

NOMINATIONS OF ERIK P. CHRISTIAN AND

MAURICE A. ROSS

TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2001

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, Washington, DC.

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:03 a.m., in room

SD–342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. George Voinovich,

presiding.

Present: Senator Voinovich.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR VOINOVICH

Senator VOINOVICH [presiding]. The hearing will come to order.

I would like to welcome our nominees, Erik Christian and Maurice

Ross, both of whom have been nominated to serve as Associate

Judges for the District of Columbia Superior Court, and I would

like to welcome their families and friends, and thank their families

in advance for the sacrifice that they are going to make in order

for Mr. Christian and Mr. Ross to serve on the court, and I would

also like to welcome Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. Congresswoman, very happy to have you here with us today.

Let me state for the record that both of our nominees have undergone a very thorough screening process. They were recommended by the District’s Judicial Nomination Commission, a

group of distinguished individuals who submit to the President of

the United States three names, and then the President selects one

of those three names. Mr. Christian, Mr. Ross, you are the ones

that the President has selected. Then, of course, you each went

through an FBI background investigation, and then the President

formally nominated you.

Since the nominations were received, the Committee staff has

conducted separate background checks and interviews with both of

our nominees here this morning. I have also spent a great deal of

time reviewing your qualifications, and I am pleased to be holding

these hearings today. I am confident that the two of you are both

going to be very fine judges.

To present our nominees today, we are honored to have Delegate

Norton to introduce you, and we are very glad to have you here

this morning.

STATEMENT OF HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, A

DELEGATE IN CONGRESS FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Ms. NORTON. Thank you very much, Senator Voinovich, and may

I just begin by thanking you for your extraordinary service to the

2

District of Columbia. We have been very fortunate to have a former

mayor of Cleveland as the Chair of our Committee here in the Senate. This morning, of course, it is my great honor to appear before

you in another capacity, and that is to introduce two very able

young lawyers who have been nominated by President Bush to

serve on our Superior Court bench.

Erik Christian is a native Washingtonian who comes from a family of educators here in the District. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Howard University. He attended Georgetown University

Law Center. Mr. Christian clerked on the very court to which he

has now been nominated, and he has had very extensive trial experience of the kind that suits him especially well to serve on this

court. He has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney here in the District,

prosecuting complex cases, including homicide cases. He rose to become a Deputy Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He went on to

become the second in command at the office of the U.S. Attorney

in the Virgin Islands. Most recently, he has served our city as Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, and under his jurisdiction were the

police department, the fire and emergency medical services, the Department of Corrections, and the Medical Examiner. His most recent position was as legal counselor to D.C. Mayor Tony Williams.

I am pleased also to introduce Maurice Ross. Maurice Ross has

had extensive civil and criminal litigation experience as well. His

most recent assignment was as assistant counsel in the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Before that, Mr.

Ross was senior counsel with the Federal Home Loan Mortgage

Corporation, otherwise known as Freddie Mac. He has had extensive civil and criminal experience in Federal and State courts, not

only in the District of Columbia, but throughout the United States.

Mr. Ross has been a Special Assistant to the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, and an Associate Deputy Attorney General. His legal career began in private practice at a large firm here,

Shaw Pittman, where he began to get his litigation experience. Mr.

Ross is a graduate, cum laude, from Yale College, and got his law

degree from Harvard Law School. He has served as a member of

the District Bar’s Legal Ethics Committee, and he has been on the

board of directors of the Greater Washington Urban League. The

District of Columbia is very proud to present these two candidates

for your consideration.

Senator VOINOVICH. Thank you very much. I really appreciate

your coming here today to introduce both nominees, and I think

that their backgrounds are just outstanding. I wish everyone was

as qualified. As part of the Committee’s normal practice, I would

like the nominees to stand and raise their right hand. Do you

swear that the testimony that you will give the Committee today

is the truth, the whole truth, so help you, God?

Mr. ROSS. I do.

Mr. CHRISTIAN. I do.

Senator VOINOVICH. Please be seated. Let the record show that

the nominees answered in the affirmative. Let me now welcome

Erik Christian. We are pleased that you are here today, and I

know it is a special day for your family. The special day will be

when the Senate approves your appointments, but this is a big day

in the beginning of this little venture up the ladder, and so we are

3

1 Biographical and financial information with attachments appear in the Appendix on page 9.

very happy that you are here and you have members of your family

and friends with you. Would you like to make an opening statement?

TESTIMONY OF ERIK P. CHRISTIAN1 TO BE AN ASSOCIATE

JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Mr. CHRISTIAN. Yes, thank you, Senator. Good morning. I would

first like to introduce my family members. I introduced them earlier to you. However, I would like to introduce them to you and the

Committee staff. My father, Charles Christian, is present with me

today, along with my sister, Dr. Judy Christian, my mother, Dorothy Christian, and my brother, Gary Christian, and my daughter,

Caitlin Erin Christian. They have provided me with support

throughout my life, and are here today again to provide that same

support.

Just as an aside, my parents are educators here in the District

of Columbia. They are retired public school teachers and administrators, and just lived a couple of blocks away from the Capitol.

They grew up together on the same street, near North Capital and

I Streets, just in the shadow of the Capitol, and I would especially

like to thank them for being with me throughout my life and here

today. I also have a cousin here, Hallue Clark Wright, who is an

employee with the Department of Justice in the area of civil rights.

There are several friends and colleagues here with me today, Attorney Lola Ziadie, Ron Walutes, Guy Middleton, Harold Ognelodh,

and the Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia, Robert

Rigsby, is present today, sir.

This is indeed an honor and a privilege to have been nominated

by President Bush to serve as an Associate Judge to the Superior

Court of the District of Columbia. Again, I want to thank your

Committee and your staff, who did diligent work in getting this

hearing scheduled and yourself having this hearing scheduled. I

also would like to thank the D.C. Judicial Nominations Commission and Mayor Anthony Williams for recommending me to the

White House, and, of course, the President of the United States, for

nominating me to this position.

As you may know, Mayor Williams wanted to be here today. He

sends his greetings. However, he is at a conference out in Nevada.

Chief Judge Annice Wagner, whom I clerked for in the trial court,

is unfortunately unable to make it this morning. She is sitting in

an en banc argument in the D.C. Court of Appeals. However, she

also sends her greetings. I would just like to follow in the tradition

of my family, in the footsteps of those who I learned from, to serve

ably on the court. I think I will serve in a proficient manner. As

you know, I have basically served throughout the city in various

public sector, public government agencies and in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for approximately 10–11 years, and then as Deputy

Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, and presently as legal counsel

to the mayor.

4

1 Biographical and financial information with attachments appear in the Appendix on page 91.

I think all those positions and being a native Washingtonian will

serve me well on the bench, and I look forward to serving in a proficient manner. Thank you, sir.

Senator VOINOVICH. Thank you. Mr. Ross, welcome.

TESTIMONY OF MAURICE A. ROSS1 TO BE AN ASSOCIATE

JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Mr. ROSS. Good morning, Senator. I would like to introduce my

family. First, my wife, Beverly, and my son, Jeffrey, who are behind me; my parents, Dr. and Mrs. Walter Ross; my oldest sibling,

my sister, Margaret; and also with me this morning, Judge George

Mitchell of the D.C. Superior Court, who has been a close family

friend and mentor; my godfather, Dr. Roy Batiste; and also a close

family friend, Ms. Georgina Brown, who is also here. I think I covered everyone who came in.

I would like to thank the Committee first of all for moving so expeditiously on our nominations. I would like to thank the staff.

They walked us through the process very quickly; the President, for

nominating me; the D.C. Judicial Nominations Commission. I am

eager to serve and I am willing to answer any questions that the

Committee may have this morning. Thank you.

Senator VOINOVICH. Thank you. I would like to make clear to

both of the nominees that I am here by myself this morning. Ordinarily, we have a couple more individuals that are on the Committee that are here, but we were here late last night and several

of them were tied up. I want to make clear to you and your families

that this is a very important procedure, and a lot of it is all the

work that has gone before this hearing this morning. I think sometimes when we have these hearings and they are very short, people

think, well, that was not much. But both of you know—you have

gone through quite a bit in order to come here this morning. As I

say, I know this is a very important day for your family and for

your friends.

There are three questions that I am required to ask of each of

you, and I would like to read them to you and then have you respond. The first question is are you aware of anything in your

background that might present a conflict of interest with the duties

of the office to which you have been nominated? Mr. Christian.

Mr. CHRISTIAN. No, sir.

Senator VOINOVICH. Mr. Ross.

Mr. ROSS. No, Senator.

Senator VOINOVICH. Do you know of any reason, personal or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and honorably discharging the responsibilities of the office to which you have

been nominated?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. No, sir.

Mr. ROSS. No, Senator.

Senator VOINOVICH. Do you know of any reason, personal or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from serving the full

term of the office to which you have been nominated?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. No, sir.

5

Mr. ROSS. No, Senator.

Senator VOINOVICH. Those are the formal questions that we have

before the Committee. I would like to give each of you an opportunity to answer this question I am interested in, and that is you

are both relatively young men, at least from my perspective, and

I would be interested, starting with you, Mr. Christian, why is it

that you sought this nomination?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. Senator Voinovich, throughout my life I have

tried to follow the words and wisdom of my family, my mother and

father, sister, and brother. I followed my brother, attorney Gary

Christian, into law school, and I followed his advice almost to the

letter. I then clerked for Judge Annice Wagner, and began to see

how society and the community all would come back to the Superior Court. Seeking this nomination will provide me with the opportunity to continue to contribute back to the community in which I

was raised. It will allow me to continue to devote my life, my energy, to make this city a better place.

As you know, I was Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, and I

worked extensively in the community through Mayor Anthony Williams’ strategic plans of building and sustaining healthy neighborhoods, making the government work. We had a point-by-point strategic plan that is now underway, to bring this community back. I

think, through that experience as his legal counsel, as well as now,

with the opportunity to serve on the bench if confirmed, I will be

able to provide that same devotion, that same caring, that same

passion, to the citizens of the District of Columbia.

Senator VOINOVICH. I am sure that the mayor is going to miss

your help. I, as you know, am a good friend of the mayor’s and try

to be as supportive as we can; but, as I have emphasized to him

very often, you are only as good as the team that you have around

you, and I am sure that he has enjoyed the fact that you have been

willing to serve him. When was the first thought that you had, that

you someday would like to be a judge? Did this just come on, or

have you ever had that thought before?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. Well, believe it or not, and I am not sure whether

I shared this with anyone, but my father and mother had bought

my brother and me a little Honda Civic, and we had driven down

to a nearby car stereo place to get a stereo placed in the car, because we did not have a radio in the car, and my brother decided

to take me down to Superior Court, just to watch the proceedings,

and we could not have been older than 16- to 18-years-old. So we

walked down and sat in the Superior Court at that time, and at

that point, it was just so fascinating.

So that is when the first pearl came to me, and then actually

being in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, one of the finest offices in the

District of Columbia, and being able to practice there for an extensive number of years and then to work as First Assistant in the

Virgin Islands just brought that back and confirmed my desire to

actually be on the bench, to continue to help shape society and our

community.

Senator VOINOVICH. Thank you very much. Mr. Ross.

Mr. ROSS. I would join in many of Mr. Christian’s sentiments.

My parents were government servants here in the city. My older

brother is also a lawyer. He could not be here today because he is

6

in Jamaica on business. But I have grown up in this city. I am

committed to public service, and I thought that serving on the Superior Court would be an excellent way to continue in public service, to continue to grow as a lawyer and deal with some of the most

complex and difficult issues, not just in the city, but in this country, and they all come through the front door of Superior Court.

As to when it first occurred to me to consider being a judge, approximately 4 years ago, Gloria Johnson, the secretary to the late

Chief Judge of the District Court, Judge Aubrey Robinson, for

whom my sister clerked, mentioned that there was an opening for

a magistrate judge and that I should consider applying, and she

encouraged me to apply for that position and to talk to Judge Robinson about service on the court; and it was out of that meeting

that I had my initial interest in seeking judicial office. Subsequently, I met many of the judges on Superior Court before whom

I appeared. I had the opportunity to meet them off the bench, and

I was convinced that it was just an outstanding opportunity, and

that is when I decided to apply.

Senator VOINOVICH. Well, as I say, I think it is very good that

both of you have decided to make yourself available. This is not an

easy life, and, as I say, your families are going to have some sacrifices. One point, and this is a concern that I have, and Senator

DeWine, who happens to be on the Appropriations Committee that

has the District, and then there are several members of the House,

and that is the issue of the family and juvenile judges here in the

District, and there has been some talk about creating a special

family court slot here in the District. I am not sure that is going

to happen, but one thing that we have been assured is that there

is going to be a larger emphasis on individuals serving in that capacity.

I would just bring it to your attention today. There is a real need

in the District for much more attention to the family court, and,

too often, I think judges have a tendency not to want to be part

of that, because it does involve, in some instances, a little larger

commitment in terms of one’s emotions, because you really have to

get into the whole situation in a family. I would just bring that to

your attention today, in hopes that after you are on the bench, that

you would think about maybe taking that on for a couple of years.

It is very important today.

One of the things that bothers me about the justice system is,

too often, the people that go through it are treated not as human

beings, or just as another number, and I think it is really important that, on the bench, you look at people as being in the image

and likeness of God, and that they are human beings and they

have problems, and that, particularly today in our society, we have

some real problems in terms of families. I was governor of Ohio,

and we really emphasized the importance of those family courts,

where you have people that are really interested.

They get to be familiar with the social service agencies. They

take some extra time to find out about the individuals that are appearing before them. They are really able to make a real difference

in their lives, and I just—I know sometimes that part of the law

is not as appealing to some people as we would like it. But I would

say that, as time goes on, I would hope that both of you would look

7

into that, and perhaps you might take it upon yourself to serve in

that capacity and to make a difference for the families that are

here in the District. I would like to again thank you for being here

today, and hopefully we will move this along. I think we are supposed to have a markup tomorrow, so hopefully that will be done,

and then will go over on the calendar, and then we will try and

get you up as soon as possible.

Again, thank you for your willingness to serve the District.

The Committee is adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 9:23 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

(9)

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