U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800

Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001

80–608 PDF 2002

S. Hrg. 107–561

NOMINATION OF JAMES ‘‘JEB’’ E. BOASBERG

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON THE

NOMINATION OF JAMES ‘‘JEB’’ E. BOASBERG TO BE AN ASSOCIATE

JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

JUNE 26, 2002

Printed for the use of the Committee on Governmental Affairs

(

(II)

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman

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

MARK DAYTON, Minnesota

FRED THOMPSON, Tennessee

TED STEVENS, Alaska

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi

ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah

JIM BUNNING, Kentucky

PETER G. FITZGERALD, Illinois

JOYCE A. RECHTSCHAFFEN, Staff Director and Counsel

JENNIFER E. HAMILTON, Research Assistant

MARIANNE CLIFFORD UPTON, Staff Director and Chief Counsel, Oversight of

Government Management, Restructuring and the District of Columbia Subcommittee

RICHARD A. HERTLING, Minority Staff Director

JOHANNA L. HARDY, Minority Counsel

THERESA M. PRYCH, Minority Legislative Aide, Oversight of

Government Management, Restructuring and the District of Columbia Subcommittee

DARLA D. CASSELL, Chief Clerk

(III)

C O N T E N T S

Opening statements: Page

Senator Durbin ................................................................................................. 1

Senator Bunning ............................................................................................... 5

WITNESSES

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2002

Hon. John Warner, a U.S. Senator from the State of Virginia ............................ 2

Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Delegate from the District of Columbia ........... 3

James ‘‘Jeb’’ E. Boasberg to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court

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

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WITNESSES

Boasberg, James ‘‘Jeb’’ E.:

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

Biographical and professional information ..................................................... 9

Norton, Hon. Eleanor Holmes:

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

Warner, Hon. John:

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

APPENDIX

Senator Paul Strauss, Shadow U.S. Senator elected by the voters of the

District of Columbia ............................................................................................. 6

(1)

NOMINATION OF JAMES ‘‘JEB’’ E. BOASBERG

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2002

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

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:02 p.m., in room

SD–342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Richard J. Durbin

presiding.

Present: Senators Durbin and Bunning.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DURBIN

Senator DURBIN. Good afternoon. The hearing will come to order.

I am pleased to welcome all of you to this hearing before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs to consider the nomination

of James Emanuel (Jeb) Boasberg to be an Associate Judge on the

District of Columbia Superior Court.

On May 13 of this year Mr. Boasberg was nominated by President Bush to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge

Gregory Mize. Mr. Boasberg is currently an Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to the homicide and major crimes section of the U.S.

Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia. He has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney since 1996. He has prosecuted over 40 jury

trial cases and some 25 to 30 bench trials. He has presented 11 appellate arguments in various assignments throughout his 6 years

in the office.

Prior to his public service career he was an associate at Kellogg,

Huber, Hansen, Todd & Evans in Washington, DC, from 1995 to

1996, and an associate at Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco from

1991 to 1994. He served as a law clerk for the Hon. Dorothy W.

Nelson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1990 to

1991. Mr. Boasberg is a District of Columbia native, and earned

both his bachelor’s and law degrees from Yale.

I am certain this is a very special day for you, Mr. Boasberg, as

you contemplate this next step in your legal career. I understand

you may have some family members with you as well as supportive

colleagues and friends. Would you care to introduce them at this

time?

Mr. BOASBERG. Yes, thank you very much, Senator Durbin. First

of all, thank you so much for having this hearing and acting on my

nomination in such an expeditious fashion. I would also like to

thank your staff which have been very helpful to me throughout.

I would like to introduce some people—my wife is here, Liddy

Manson, and my son, Daniel. We left our 2-year-old twin daughters

at home in the interest of public safety. Also, my sister Melissa; my

2

father and mother-in-law, Gavin Manson and Mary Manson; and

then my parents, Sally Boasberg, and the photographer Tersh

Boasberg. They are here on a very special day because today is

their 42nd wedding anniversary. Finally, there are also a number

of friends and colleagues, past and present, from the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Thank you, sir.

Senator DURBIN. I would like to welcome my colleagues, the senior Senator from Virginia, John Warner, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, who are both here

to offer words of introduction on behalf of Mr. Boasberg.

Senator Warner, please proceed.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN WARNER, A U.S. SENATOR FROM

THE STATE OF VIRGINIA

Senator WARNER. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is one of

those moments in my 24 years in the Senate that I look forward

to. It is fairly interesting. This fine man who is now 6-foot-4 or 5

inches in height, I have a picture taken of him in my office in the

Pentagon when I was Secretary of the Navy. I had my son and the

nominee over for some luncheon or something, and I had to leave

my office. A photographer slipped in and got a picture of this nominee in my seat, feet on the desk, and one of my big cigars in his

mouth, and my son was sitting there hilariously laughing. I feel

like he is a member of the family.

It is extraordinary, and the distinguished Chair of the Committee here has already enumerated his history and I will not go

over the credentials of this fine individual and all he has achieved.

Our careers have paralleled in the sense that I, too, had the

privilege of being a law clerk to a Federal circuit judge, E. Barrett

Prettyman, and I was privileged, with the support of the Chair and

others, to name the courthouse here in honor of him several years

ago. Then I went on from the clerkship to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where you are today, and I tried cases all through basically

the same fundamental court structure for 4 or 5 years and then

back out into private law practice. So we have had a parallel career

although separated, I guess, by 40 years.

So I would just like to take the time of the Committee to read

one statement; something I have never done before in my many

years in the Senate. I do so as follows, in closing, I would like to

end my statement with a few words by my son John in support of

Jeb Boasberg.

My son writes, ‘‘Since the 4th grade at St. Albans School I have

regarded my good friend Jeb Boasberg as the embodiment of the

young Abraham Lincoln during our civil war education class;

matching him in physical stature, leadership, morality, wisdom,

and just plain good looks. Jeb more than once saved me from my

own devices at that young age. Not only did he provide a shining

example of what a young boy could be to his peers, he also uplifted

all his classmates in the eyes of the elder generation.’’

‘‘He has kept these values intact to this day, and has in fact polished them to a high patina. He is also one heck of a good basketball player, to which his swollen, broken right-hand middle finger

will eternally attest.’’

3

I think at this point I will make a hasty withdrawal. Mr. Chairman, as you know, I am on the floor managing a small matter of

concern to the Senate at this moment. I thank the indulgence of

the Chair, the colleagues, and all who are in attendance. You are

on your own. Good luck.

Mr. BOASBERG. Thank you.

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Senator Warner. That small matter

he is referring to is the Department of Defense authorization bill,

that I certainly know is of great importance. I would just say for

the record that Senator Warner’s son knows how to play to the

crowd since he is speaking of Abraham Lincoln to someone from Illinois.

Congresswoman Norton.

STATEMENT OF HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, A

DELEGATE FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Ms. NORTON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I must say that if a

nominee is able to keep his reputation intact with a peer since elementary school, that says a lot for him. I am pleased to support

the nomination of James Boasberg. I do so entirely on the merits

of a distinguished and professionally relevant career, though I

make the disclosure that I have known his parents, Tersch and

Sally Boasberg, for many years. They are outstanding Washingtonians, so I can assure you that Mr. Boasberg was raised right.

Mr. Boasberg’s career is tailor made for the bench of our city. His

extensive experience in jury trials and prosecutions before the

grand jury and appeals, his several awards, while he has been an

Assistant U.S. Attorney, his civil and white-collar litigation experience here and in San Francisco in private firms, his clerkship on

the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, his education, magna cum

laude from Yale College and then Yale Law School and Oxford.

I think this is precisely the kind of nominee that this Committee

would want to confirm and I am pleased to commend his nomination to you at this time, Mr. Chairman.

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Congresswoman Norton, for your

attendance at these hearings with regularity. We are always happy

to have you over here. I hope at some future day that you will have

to tell us you have to leave because you have a vote on the floor.

Mr. Boasberg, it is customary for this Committee to swear in witnesses. I would ask you to please stand and ask you to raise your

right hand.

[Witness sworn.]

Senator DURBIN. Let the record indicate the witness has answered in the affirmative. Do you have any opening remarks which

you would like to make?

TESTIMONY OF JAMES ‘‘JEB’’ E. BOASBERG TO BE AN ASSOCIATE JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT

OF COLUMBIA

Mr. BOASBERG. Just very quickly, Senator. I would like to thank

Senator Warner and Congresswoman Norton for their incredibly

gracious introductions and their appearance here today. I truly appreciate that.

4

1The biographical and professional information appears in the Appendix on page 9.

I would like to finally say that if I have acquired the legal skills

required to be a judge, the knowledge of what is just, of how to deal

with difficult issues, and what can be done for citizens of this city,

I have learned it from my colleagues, many of whom are here

today. And if I have the proper temperament to be a judge and can

treat all kinds of people with civility, respect, and fairness, I have

learned those things from my parents, and I would not be here

without all of those people.

Senator DURBIN. Thank you. Well said. As a candidate for this

appointment you have been through a thorough screening process,

recommended by the D.C. Judicial Nominating Committee, subjected to an FBI background investigation, and subsequently selected and nominated by the President. Since your nomination was

received in the Senate you have completed a thorough biographical

questionnaire,1 Committee staff have conducted background checks

and interviewed you. I have reviewed your responses and note that

you have an extensive and exemplary record of service.

There are three questions that are required of each nominee before this Committee which I will now ask you. Is there anything

that you are aware of in your background that might present a conflict of interest with the duties of the office to which you have been

nominated?

Mr. BOASBERG. No, sir.

Senator DURBIN. 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. BOASBERG. No, sir.

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

for the office to which you have been nominated?

Mr. BOASBERG. I do not.

Senator DURBIN. I have had the chance to review your background and I am not going to pretend to manufacture questions

here; it is extraordinary. I am glad that you are dedicated to public

service. We are lucky to have people like you who are willing to do

that, and you are lucky to be part of a family that considers that

to be a noble calling. I am sure that Daniel may not remember everything about this day but I hope he will recall that his dad was

here and went through this confirmation.

When you consider the fact that you will be appointed, with Senate confirmation, to a 15-year term, I am a little envious. We only

get 6-year terms. But there comes, with that appointment, a certain concern based on my personal experience before I was ever

elected to Congress. Some have characterized what I am about to

describe as black robe-itis, when a judge reaches a lofty pinnacle

and proceeds to gaze down on the assembled, unwashed multitude

below.

It is a phenomena or perception that once someone has received

a long-term appointment as a judge many times, in their own

minds, they vault themselves into some pantheon of a god-like

creature who is unapproachable by mere humans. It happens, forVerDate 11-MAY-2000 11:05 Sep 13, 2002 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 80608.TXT SAFFAIRS PsN: SAFFAIRS
5

tunately rarely, but it does happen. I think it does a disservice to

the administration of justice and the law.

So I would like, even though I know what your answer is going

to be, I would like to put you on the record, if you would please,

to talk about judicial temperament or what part that might play

in your judicial appointment.

Mr. BOASBERG. One of the benefits of being an Assistant U.S. Attorney is that I have appeared in Superior Court every week, and

often every day for long stretches over the last 51⁄2 years. During

that time, I have had an opportunity to watch many judges, and

get an assessment of both their abilities and their temperament.

I would certainly hope that I would be able to act with civility,

respect, and decency to everybody who came into that courtroom,

be they attorneys, lawyers, victims importantly, witnesses, courtroom staff, and jurors. And that means things like getting onto the

bench on time, not keeping jurors waiting, treating court reporters

and courtroom staff with decency and courtesy.

I think, in terms of the robe-itis, as you have called it Senator,

a feeling of elevation above those who appear before you, I think

that I am fortunate enough to know many people and to have good

friendships with many people who are judges, who are prosecutors,

and who are defense lawyers. And if I even tried to get away with

anything like that, they would quickly let me know that I was acting out of character. So I will trust in that backbone of support to

never let that occur.

Senator DURBIN. Thank you. Senator Bunning, do you have any

questions?

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BUNNING

Senator BUNNING. I have an opening statement that I would like,

first of all, to ask unanimous consent that it be inserted in the

record.

Senator DURBIN. Without objection.

[The prepared opening statement of Senator Bunning follows:]

PREPARED OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BUNNING

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Today, this Committee is considering the nomination of Jeb Boasberg, a nominee

to be an Associate Judge of the D.C. Superior Court.

As I have said before, judges play a critical role in our society.

They have the unique task of enforcing the laws we create, and, more importantly, they’re charged with insuring that the basic rights guaranteed to all American citizens are upheld in every case that comes before them.

As an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia working within the

homicide and major crimes section, Mr. Boasberg has seen a side of human nature

that many of us, God willing, will never encounter, and I hope that Mr. Boasberg

will be able to use his experiences both in the private and public sectors to run his

courtroom fairly and expeditiously.

I look forward to hearing from Mr. Boasberg today, and gaining his perspective

on what will possibly be his new job.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator BUNNING. Yes, I have a couple of questions.

Senator DURBIN. Please proceed.

Senator BUNNING. I have had a similar experience that your father is going through today, as I have had a son who was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for 101⁄2 years and just now is a judge in the

Eastern District of Kentucky.

6

I am sure your father will not let you get judge-itis, as I know

my son will not get judge-itis, because I am not going to let him

either. If you do have a problem, I am sure your peers, particularly

on the bench, will straighten you out in a hurry.

I know and have read your record and find you to be highly

qualified for this unique position. It is a 15-year term, but with the

right attitude and answering all the questions as you have, I am

sure you will do a fine job for the District, and I am here to congratulate you, and I would like to lend my support to your nomination.

Mr. BOASBERG. Thank you very much, Senator.

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Senator Bunning. Thank you, Mr.

Boasberg, for your responses. I want to thank your family and

friends for joining you today. I know you are anxious to see this

confirmation completed and I will go out on a limb and predict that

I think it is going to happen.

I note receipt of a statement of support of your nomination from

Paul Strauss, which will be included and be made part of the

record.

[The prepared statement of Paul Strauss follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR PAUL STRAUSS, SHADOW U.S.

SENATOR ELECTED BY THE VOTERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Chairman Durbin and Members of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, I am Paul Strauss, the U.S. Senator elected by the voters of the District of

Columbia, a position referred to as the Shadow Senator. I am also an attorney practicing in the local courts of the District of Columbia. In each of these capacities, I

appreciate the opportunity to provide this statement on behalf of my constituents

in the District of Columbia. I wish to express my wholehearted support for the

President’s nomination of James E. Boasberg to be an Associate Judge of Superior

Court of the District of Columbia.

Mr. Boasberg has an accomplished record, having served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for the Appellate Division, Misdemeanor Section,

Grand Jury Section, General Felony Section, Narcotics Section, Homicide Section,

and the newly created Homicide and Major Crime Section. Mr. Boasberg’s previous

experience in private practice, as an associate with Kellog, Huber, Hansen, Todd

and Evans of D.C., where he dealt with business litigation and criminal defense

matters, has been of tremendous benefit to the District of Columbia and the citizens

he has represented. Moreover, with his experience with specializing in First Amendment defamation work, complex civil litigation, and white-collar criminal defense, he

offers the Superior Court a fresh perspective in these matters. His legal career also

includes many significant cases such as United States v. Joseph Mesa Jr., United

States v. Thomas Lewis and Raymond Weldon, and United States v. Darryl Turner

to name a few. These cases dealt with heinous acts and dangerous criminals. These

cases appear to have been handled with the utmost diligence and professionalism

by Mr. Boasberg, and also resulted in convictions of the alleged perpetrators.

Mr. Boesberg has also been recognized for his achievements in the field of law,

by being awarded the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Achievement Award in 2001,

2000, 1999 and 1998. This obviously shows his competence as a trial lawyer and

his future capacity for judicial temperament. Moreover his avid support for developmental programs displays his commitment to his community. For example, he is an

8-year member of the Ellington Development Council, which raises money, promotes

community consciousness, and assists students at The Duke Ellington School for the

Arts. Mr. Boasberg is also the Chairman and co-founder of the Bishop John T.

Walker Fellowship Committee, which grants $2,500 to St. Albans School students

to promote social service in lesser developed countries or poorer areas of the United

States.

Based on the information made available to my office, I have concluded that there

is no reason not to support James E. Boasberg’s nomination. I look forward to his

investiture onto the Superior Court bench and I am confident that he will uphold

the honor of our justice system. The nominee appears qualified to meet the responsibilities and tasks that an Associate Judge of Superior Court of the District of CoVerDate 11-MAY-2000 11:05 Sep 13, 2002 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 80608.TXT SAFFAIRS PsN: SAFFAIRS
7

lumbia may face. So, today I ask that you vote yes for this nomination on behalf

of the District of Columbia residents who do not have anyone in this body who vote

on their behalf.

Senator DURBIN. The next step in the process will be prompt consideration at the full Committee markup in the very near future,

and then report to the full Senate for final action.

With that, this hearing is adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 3:17 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

(9)

A P P E N D I X

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Æ