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72–483 PDF 2012

S. Hrg. 112–316 

NOMINATIONS OF RONALD D. MCCRAY, CORINNE 

A. BECKWITH, AND CATHARINE F. EASTERLY 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

NOMINATIONS OF RONALD D. MCCRAY TO BE A MEMBER OF THE FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD; CORINNE A. 

BECKWITH AND CATHARINE F. EASTERLY TO BE ASSOCIATE JUDGES 

OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov/ 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

( 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

MARK BEGICH, Alaska 

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

MICHAEL L. ALEXANDER, Staff Director 

KRISTINE V. LAM, Professional Staff Member 

CHRISTINE K. WEST, Counsel, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, 

the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia 

NICHOLAS A. ROSSI, Minority Staff Director 

JENNIFER L. TARR, Minority Counsel 

TRINA DRIESSNACK TYRER, Chief Clerk 

PATRICIA R. HOGAN, Publications Clerk 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Hearing Clerk 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Opening statement: Page 

Senator Akaka .................................................................................................. 1 

Prepared statement: 

Senator Akaka .................................................................................................. 13 

WITNESSES 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 

Ronald D. McCray to be a Member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board ........................................................................................................... 2 

Corinne A. Beckwith to be an Associate Judge of the District of Columbia 

Court of Appeals ................................................................................................... 8 

Catharine F. Easterly to be an Associate Judge of the District of Columbia 

Court of Appeals ................................................................................................... 9 

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WITNESSES

Beckwith, Corinne A.: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 8 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 32 

Biographical and financial information .......................................................... 33 

Easterly, Catharine F.: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 9 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 59 

Biographical and financial information .......................................................... 60 

McCray, Ronald D.: 

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

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 14 

Biographical and financial information .......................................................... 16 

Responses to pre-hearing questions for the Record ....................................... 22 

Letter from the Office of Government Ethics ................................................. 30 

Responses to post-hearing questions for the Record ..................................... 31 

APPENDIX 

Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delegate of the District of Columbia, statement 

for the Record ....................................................................................................... 85 

Paul Strauss, U.S. Shadow Senator for the District of Columbia, statement 

for the Record ....................................................................................................... 86 

(1) 

NOMINATIONS OF RONALD D. MCCRAY, 

CORINNE A. BECKWITH, AND CATHARINE F. 

EASTERLY 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in room 

SD–342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Daniel K. Akaka, 

presiding. 

Present: Senator Akaka. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR AKAKA 

Senator AKAKA. This hearing will come to order. Aloha and welcome to everyone here. 

Today, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

Affairs meets to consider the nomination of Ronald McCray to be 

a member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board 

(FRTIB). 

On the second panel, we will consider the nominations of Corinne 

Beckwith and Catharine Easterly to be Associate Judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. 

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board was established 

in 1986 by legislation that modernized the Federal retirement system and created the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which is a retirement savings plan similar to a 401(k) plan for the Federal employees and military service members. 

Mr. McCray is well qualified to join this board. He has over 20 

years of experience in overseeing and monitoring retirement systems for many large private sector companies and universities, and 

currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors for A.H. Belo 

Corporation, a Texas-based newspaper company. In that role, he is 

responsible for the oversight of the company’s retirement and pension plans. 

Mr. McCray, I want to congratulate you on your nomination. I 

understand that you have some family and friends in attendance 

and I want to give you the opportunity to introduce them to the 

Committee. 

Mr. MCCRAY. Aloha, Senator. 

Senator AKAKA. Aloha. 

Mr. MCCRAY. Thank you very much. 

2 

1The prepared statement of Mr. McCray appears in the Appendix on page 14. 

I will introduce my family. From your left to right are my Aunt 

Lucille, my mother, Vivian, my daughter Morgan, and my sister 

Donna. To my left, my sister Jonnie, my cousin Jackie, my cousin 

Don, my friend Andrea, and my best friend, Alfredo. 

Senator AKAKA. Terrific. Thank you very much again to your 

family. 

Mr. MCCRAY. I should also add a former employee, Dick Kimberly, is here. 

Senator AKAKA. I want to say hello to you all and welcome to the 

Committee. 

I just know by the number of people here that your family and 

friends must be very proud of what you have accomplished. 

Our nominee has filed responses to a biographical and financial 

questionnaire and answered prehearing questions submitted by the 

Committee. 

So, without objection, this information will be made part of the 

hearing record with the exception of the financial information, 

which is on file and available for public inspection at the Committee office. 

Our Committee rules require that witnesses at nomination hearings give their testimony under oath. So, I ask you, Mr. McCray, 

to please rise and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear 

that the testimony you are about to give this Committee is the 

truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God. 

Mr. MCCRAY. I do. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. Let it be noted for the record that 

the witness answered in the affirmative. 

Mr. McCray, please proceed with your statement. 

TESTIMONY OF RONALD D. MCCRAY 1 TO BE A MEMBER OF 

THE FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD 

Mr. MCCRAY. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to 

the Committee and its staff as well. 

I am honored to be here before you today as a nominee to be a 

member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. I am 

also deeply grateful for President Obama’s confidence in nominating me for this position. 

While several dear friends and family are here, many could not 

attend because conflicts prevented them from attending, but I 

know they are here in spirit. 

My sisters and I lost our father when he had a fatal heart attack 

when I was 5 years old. Today, coincidentally, would have been his 

76th birthday. 

As a result of his untimely death, my mother raised four children 

as a single mother in the public housing projects in the Bronx, New 

York. Her example inspired each of my sisters and me to obtain 

college and professional degrees. It is her example and it is his 

memory that I honor today. 

As you know, the FRTIB was established to provide guidance 

and oversight for the Thrift Savings Plan. This plan is the primary 

pension fund for Federal employees. I believe I was nominated to 

be a member of the FRTIB due to my experience with pension 

3 

funds, boards of directors, and my professional background and 

education. I have had oversight responsibility for corporate and 

university investments, including pension oversight for plans covering tens of thousands of employees, the establishment of investment policies, the evaluation of pension staff, investment performance, and outside investment managers. 

For most of my career, I worked as a senior executive and lawyer 

for Kimberly-Clark Corporation, which has over 30,000 employees. 

During that time, I was responsible for, among other things, pension plans holding more than $2 billion in assets. As such, my responsibilities included oversight of investments, setting investment 

policy, the staff responsible for those investments and for hiring 

and evaluating outside investment managers. 

As chief administrative officer for Nike, Inc., from 2007–2009, I 

had oversight responsibility for investment of the company’s more 

than $2 billion of cash assets. 

As a corporate director, I have been serving as a member of the 

Board of Directors for A.H. Belo Corp., a Dallas-based newspaper 

organization, since 2010. In that role, I have oversight responsibilities for the company’s retirement and pension plans covering over 

2,000 employees. 

I previously served from 2003 to 2006 as a member of the Board 

of Directors for San Jose, California-based Knight Ridder, Inc., 

then the second largest newspaper organization in the Nation with 

a market capitalization of $6 billion and over 4,000 employees. In 

that role, I had oversight responsibilities for that company’s retirement plans. 

In addition to corporate boards, I currently serve on the Board 

of Trustees for Cornell University, the Visiting Committee of Harvard Law School, and the Board of Directors of the North Texas 

Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. 

It is these roles with governing boards that have given me experience with oversight and fiduciary responsibilities for staff and 

investments; the need to reconcile the interests of various stakeholders, such as stockholders, bondholders, employees, communities, government, students, and faculty; and the imperative of collegial decisionmaking required of governing boards. 

If confirmed, I will draw on this experience overseeing pension 

funds as a corporate board member, corporate executive, lawyer, 

and investor to help oversee and strengthen the TSP. I would focus 

my energies on those matters required to keep the TSP a well run 

part of the Federal Employees Retirement System; such as cost, 

customer service, information technology, reasonable investment 

options, as well as transparency. 

Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with the Members of the Committee and members of the Federal Retirement 

Thrift Investment Board to ensure that the TSP continues its important mission of providing for retirement for Federal employees. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. 

I would be happy to answer any questions. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much for your testimony, Mr. 

McCray. 

I will begin with the standard questions that this Committee 

asks of all nominees, and you have partially answered one of them. 

4 

Is there anything 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. MCCRAY. Senator Akaka, I am not aware that there is anything in my background that would present such a conflict. 

As you may know, the Office of Government Ethics did point out 

to me that investments that I held in MetLife bonds would pose a 

potential conflict back in the spring and advised me that I would 

need to divest of those bonds within 90 days of any possible appointment. I sold those bonds last spring. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. 

Do you know of anything 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. MCCRAY. I do not. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. 

Finally, do you agree without reservation to respond to any reasonable summons to appear and testify before any duly constituted 

committee of Congress if you are confirmed? 

Mr. MCCRAY. I do. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. 

Mr. McCray, you have a distinguished private-sector career, but 

serving on a government retirement board would be a new role for 

you. 

As you know, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is 

responsible for making investment and policy decisions that affect 

millions of Federal employees and retirees. 

Please discuss how your experience has prepared you to serve on 

this board. 

Mr. MCCRAY. I would be happy to. I believe that my experience 

with pension funds as I described earlier has given me some insight into how defined contribution plans work. 

I believe I am reasonably current on the best practices from the 

standpoint of transparency, communication, investment options, fiduciary standards that are required for defined contribution plans. 

I am keenly aware that most of my experience, of course, is in 

the private sector, not the public sector. It is my commitment to 

talk to current members of the board as well as members of the 

staff, the Committee, and to consult with the Employee Thrift Advisory Council (ETAC) to give myself a better feel for the context 

in which the Thrift Savings Plan operates as a public sector defined contribution plan. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. 

Mr. McCray, I am a strong advocate for improving financial literacy, and I have organized hearings on the issue since the year 

2004. 

Please give specific examples of the steps you will take as a 

board member to increase participants’ education about their investment options. 

Mr. MCCRAY. Yes. There are a couple of things that I would do 

toward the end of increasing investor participants’ financial literacy. The first thing I might do would be to get a sense, by census 

or otherwise, as to what the current level of financial literacy 

5 

might be among the 4 million or so participants. I do not have a 

feel for that today. 

Again, I would consult with the various stakeholders as a matter 

of gaining that insight. To the extent there is information that 

helps give a baseline understanding, I would be happy to see that. 

To the extent that information is dated, I might suggest that it be 

updated. 

As I look at the census data, Senator, I would try to understand 

what opportunities there might be to enhance financial literacy for 

participants. 

I believe and agree with you that financial literacy is the secret 

sauce that makes the defined contribution plan work. 

To the extent that participants are better versed in terms of their 

retirement plans, financial options, and so forth, the pension plan 

will serve its purpose. 

I would look also at technology to see what technology solutions 

might be available to give participants ease of access to information 

about the plan. You can think of webinars, for instance, in which 

you might offer instruction to employees to increase their financial 

literacy. Of course, you can think about emails, or you might think 

about in-person consultations, those kinds of things. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. 

Mr. McCray, as you noted in a number of your answers to this 

Committee’s questionnaire, you are not familiar with many of the 

administrative aspects of the Thrift Savings Plan. If confirmed, 

how would you familiarize yourself with the TSP’s administrative 

practices and policies? 

Mr. MCCRAY. It is my practice—a discipline when I take on any 

new role—although I may have a point of view, to take a survey 

of the land, and in consultation with the ETAC, the staff, perhaps 

employees of the Committee, to mine those conversations to increase my understanding about the administrative polices and 

practices of the TSP. 

Senator AKAKA. As you know, these are challenging economic 

times. Many participants in defined contribution plans have seen 

a decrease in their portfolios, creating uncertainty for those who 

are close to retirement. 

What steps would you take to make sure that the TSP is producing optimal returns for its investors? 

Mr. MCCRAY. To ensure that the TSP is producing optimal returns, I think you start with, as we talked about earlier, participant education. 

Assuming that you can put participant education at an appropriate level, I think the next question becomes what are the 

tools that are available for the participants to use their education 

toward their retirement objectives. 

I think it is fairly common practice in financial planning for retirement and otherwise to develop a plan, and I think part of the 

literacy education would be to help participants develop a plan for 

their retirement and know that should they adhere to that plan, 

more likely than not they will be fine. 

In that case, the tumult in the markets to which you referred a 

second ago, although it will be felt by participants, I think will be 

6 

less traumatic to participants as long as they understand the plan 

on which they are pursuing their retirement objectives. 

Senator AKAKA. Mr. McCray, employee participation in any retirement savings plan is sometimes a challenge, especially among 

younger employees. 

In 2009, Congress passed language to automatically enroll employees in the TSP as well as provide immediate agency matching 

contributions. 

How will you build on Congress’ efforts to increase employee participation? 

Mr. MCCRAY. First of all, I would applaud Congress’ efforts to increase employee participation. I would say, as a back drop, that as 

our Nation requires employees to take on more responsibility for 

their own retirement, it is imperative for employers such as the 

government to help those employees, I think, as somewhat of an 

ethical, moral matter. 

To that end, I would try to understand, Senator, the reasons that 

those who are not anticipating are not participating and try to tailor communications in substance and form that might entice those 

people to participate more fully. 

Senator AKAKA. This is my final question to you, Mr. McCray. 

What are your top three priorities if you are confirmed as a board 

member? 

Mr. MCCRAY. At this time, my top three priorities are, first, to 

maintain the low-cost reputation of the TSP. A second priority 

would be to assure that the participants have available to them 

reasonable investment options, and a third priority would be to assure that we have the technology in place to support all of that because all of that gets tied together by technology. 

I would add that those are my priorities based on the study that 

I have done to date, and I would hope to refine those, should I be 

confirmed, in consultation with my fellow board members and other 

stakeholders, such as Congress. 

Senator AKAKA. I want to thank you very much for your responses to my questions. I want to wish you and your family well 

in this endeavor; and without question, your background certainly 

is helpful in this particular position. 

So again, I want to thank you so much for being here. We will 

move forward in the confirmation process here in the Committee 

and in the Senate. 

Thank you and your family very much. We certainly honor your 

Dad, too, and I know he has made a huge difference despite his absence, but your mother should be given a medal for bringing you 

folks up. 

Mr. MCCRAY. I agree. Thank you so much, Senator. Thank you 

for your time. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you, all of you. 

So, let me call up the second panel. I want to welcome everyone 

to the second part of today’s proceedings as we consider the nominations of Corinne Beckwith and Catharine Easterly to be Associate Judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. 

We consistently receive excellent D.C. court candidates nominated by the President from those recommended by the nonpartisan Judicial Nomination Commission. I am confident that, if 

7 

confirmed, these nominees will join others who have appeared before us in making valuable contributions to the District. 

Both of our nominees have strong legal backgrounds and have 

devoted much of their careers to public service. Ms. Beckwith is 

currently a supervising attorney in the Appellate Division of the 

D.C. Public Defender Service (PDS). 

Before that, she was an attorney with the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office, and she clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court 

and Federal Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. 

Ms. Easterly has been with the Special Litigation Division of the 

D.C. Public Defender Service since 2003 and was a State appellate 

defender as well as a civil litigator before that. 

I believe these nominees have much to offer to the D.C. Court of 

Appeals, and I hope we can act quickly to confirm them. 

I understand you both have loved ones here with you today, and 

I would like to give you an opportunity to introduce them to the 

Committee at this time. 

Ms. Beckwith, would you please introduce your family and 

guests. 

Ms. BECKWITH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I have with me my husband, Brent Futrell, my brother, Aaron 

Beckwith, and a lot of family watching from Michigan, and many 

colleagues from the Public Defender Service are also here. Thank 

you. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. Ms. Easterly, will you please introduce your family and guests. 

Ms. EASTERLY. Thank you, Senator. I have with me my husband, 

Aaron Zebley; my two daughters, Clara and Daphne; my parents, 

Harry and Patsy Easterly; my sister, Rachel; and my younger 

brother Noah and his wife, Carly. My older brother was not able 

to make it. My technology-savvy grandmother, however, is watching online. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you so much to all of you for being here 

to give the nominees support. We really appreciate seeing that as 

well. I am sure your loved ones are proud of you and your accomplishments and look forward to this new chapter in your lives. 

Each nominee has filed responses to a biographical and financial 

questionnaire submitted by the Committee. Without objection, this 

information will be made a part of the hearing record with the exception of financial data, which will be kept on file and made available for public inspection in the Committee office. 

Our Committee rules require that all witnesses at nomination 

hearings give their testimony under oath. So, I ask you to please 

stand and raise your right hand. 

Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give 

this Committee is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 

truth, so help you, God? 

Ms. BECKWITH. I do. 

Ms. EASTERLY. I do. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. Please note for the record that the 

witnesses answered in the affirmative. 

Ms. Beckwith, will you please proceed with your statement. 

8 

1The prepared statement of Ms. Beckwith appears in the Appendix on page 31. 

TESTIMONY OF CORINNE A. BECKWITH 1 TO BE AN ASSOCIATE 

JUDGE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS 

Ms. BECKWITH. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I am greatly honored 

to appear before you today as you consider my nomination to be an 

Associate Judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. I am 

thankful to the Judicial Nomination Commission for selecting me 

and to President Barack Obama for nominating me. I would also 

like to thank you, Mr. Chairman, and this Committee for holding 

this hearing and the Committee staff for all of the work that goes 

into making these hearings possible. 

At the outset, I would like to acknowledge and thank my family 

and friends who are here and who are watching from home or from 

their offices. You have met my husband, Brent Futrell, and my 

brother, Aaron Beckwith, who are both here with me today. And 

watching from Michigan are my mother, Alice Beckwith; my father 

and stepmother, Larry and Nancy Beckwith; my three other brothers, David, Joe, and Adam Beckwith; my sister-in-law, Chrissy 

Beckwith; my nieces, Rachel and Sophia Beckwith; and a slew of 

beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins who have encouraged and tolerated me over the years. I also feel lucky to have so many friends 

and colleagues here today. 

I grew up in a working class family in Michigan, and I was the 

first in my family to go to college. I pursued a career as a reporter 

at a small-town newspaper before changing course and attending 

law school at the University of Michigan. After clerking for two exceptional judges—Judge Richard Cudahy on the Seventh Circuit in 

Chicago and Justice John Paul Stevens at the U.S. Supreme 

Court—I began my legal career as a public defender in Detroit, 

handling a huge caseload of the criminal appeals of people who 

could not afford to hire a lawyer. 

A few years later, I returned here to the District of Columbia to 

join the Appellate Division of the Public Defender Service, and for 

the past 12 years, I have practiced almost exclusively in the D.C. 

Court of Appeals, again representing indigent people facing serious 

criminal charges. 

Particularly given the high level of practice in that court, serving 

the D.C. community in this way has been beyond gratifying, and 

it is my commitment to public service that now motivates me to 

seek appointment to the D.C. Court of Appeals—the court where I 

learned so much of what I know about the law and good lawyering. 

Because I have filed so many briefs and argued so many cases 

in the D.C. Court of Appeals, and because I have so much respect 

for the talented and thoughtful judges on that court, it is an extraordinary honor to be nominated for a position among those 

judges, and I am truly humbled by it. 

Thank you, again, Mr. Chairman, for considering my nomination. 

I welcome your questions and will do my best to answer them. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much, Ms. Beckwith. 

Ms. Easterly, please proceed with your statement. 

9 

1The prepared statement of Ms. Easterly appears in the Appendix on page 58. 

TESTIMONY OF CATHARINE F. EASTERLY 1 TO BE AN ASSOCIATE JUDGE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF 

APPEALS 

Ms. EASTERLY. Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for the opportunity 

to appear before you today as a nominee to be an Associate Judge 

on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. I want to thank 

President Barack Obama and the District of Columbia Judicial 

Nomination Commission, in particular, its chair, the Hon. Emmet 

G. Sullivan, for this honor. 

I also want to thank the Committee and your staff for considering my nomination so expeditiously at a time when there are 

many pressing matters demanding your attention. 

You have met my family. I am grateful for their presence here 

and all the opportunities that they have given me that have led me 

here today. A number of friends, colleagues, and mentors are also 

here. Suffice it to say, I would not be here without their support 

and guidance. 

Throughout my career, my abiding interest has been to work to 

promote fairness of process in our justice system, particularly for 

those least able to advocate for themselves. After graduating from 

law school, I worked for almost 5 years as an appellate public defender in New York City. I then moved to a law firm where I focused on civil litigation. In 2003, I joined the Special Litigation Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. 

At PDS, I have had the unparalleled opportunity to apply my skills 

as an appellate defender and a civil litigator, and to identify and 

address complex, recurring issues that affect the fairness and efficiency of the District’s criminal justice system. 

Putting the sum of my experiences here to use as a judge on the 

Court of Appeals, in service of the District of Columbia community, 

would be an honor and a privilege. Thank you for considering my 

nomination. I look forward to answering your questions. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much for your statement, Ms. 

Easterly. I will begin with the standard questions this Committee 

asks of all nominees, and I would like you both to answer each 

question. 

Is there anything 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? 

Ms. BECKWITH. No, Mr. Chairman. 

Ms. EASTERLY. No, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator AKAKA. Do you know of anything 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? 

Ms. BECKWITH. No, Mr. Chairman. 

Ms. EASTERLY. No, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator AKAKA. Do you agree without reservation to respond to 

any reasonable summons to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee of Congress, if you are confirmed? 

Ms. BECKWITH. Yes, sir. 

Ms. EASTERLY. I do, Mr. Chairman. 

10 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much. 

I see that you both spent a number of years with the D.C. Public 

Defender Service. I commend your decision to continue public service by joining the D.C. judicial system. Please elaborate on why you 

are seeking appointment to become an Associate Judge at this 

point in your career. 

Ms. Easterly, I would like you to answer first, followed by Ms. 

Beckwith. 

Ms. EASTERLY. I became a lawyer to do public service, and the 

bulk of my career has been focused on fairness of process issues, 

and that is what an appellate judge does. She serves the community by taking a step back to see if the law and the rules were followed and fairly applied, and I can think of no better way to continue my public service and to pursue my interest in fairness of 

process issues than by serving on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. 

Senator AKAKA. Ms. Beckwith. 

Ms. BECKWITH. Thank you. I have seen the judges of this court 

in action over the years, and I think that the work they do and the 

work of the court is extremely important. I have a great deal of respect not only for the judges of the court, but for the court as an 

institution; and while I truly love my job as a criminal appellate 

lawyer, I am interested in playing a broader role in serving my 

community. I am also interested in having the opportunity to address a wider range of legal issues, something I enjoyed very much 

as a law clerk and something that I miss. 

Finally, I think that this position is a remarkably good fit for my 

skills and for my experience, and I think it is a very natural next 

step in my career should I be fortunate enough to be confirmed. 

Thank you. 

Senator AKAKA. Ms. Beckwith, a judge is often challenged to rule 

on complex issues both quickly and correctly. Please describe how 

your experience qualifies you to confront this challenge. 

Ms. BECKWITH. Well, I have a great deal of experience as a public 

defender handling very large caseloads. So, I have spent years having to kind of develop a comfort level with producing quality work 

under pressure. That is definitely something I have done throughout my career, and I think it takes hard work. It takes smart priorities. It takes efficiency and a sense of balance and perspective, but 

I think that my experience has definitely qualified me to do that. 

Senator AKAKA. Ms. Easterly, the role of a judge is very different 

from the role of an advocate and will be new to you. Please discuss 

how you will transition to the role of an impartial decisionmaker. 

Ms. EASTERLY. I think the critical first step is to recognize that 

it is a very different job. I have been an advocate, taking a side for 

my client, zealously representing my client; and now, if I were confirmed, I would be assuming a new role of being the impartial arbiter whose job it is to completely familiarize herself with the record, 

to understand the applicable law, to look at the parties’ pleadings, 

but then go beyond, if necessary, and come up with a well reasoned 

opinion. 

I do think that my experience as an advocate will assist me in 

this regard because I think the best advocates are the ones who 

11 

can dispassionately look at their position and identify the weaknesses in their own arguments and the strengths in others. 

So, I think I can take those skills and, recognizing that I am 

serving a different role, apply them as a judge. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. 

Ms. Beckwith, the Court of Appeals handles a heavy caseload 

and needs hard-working individuals like you. Please describe your 

management style, including the role you envision for law clerks in 

your chamber. 

Ms. BECKWITH. I am not sure what my management style will 

be as a judge, but I know that I am a very hard worker. I actually 

enjoy working long hours and weekends, perhaps much to my husband’s dismay. So, I think hard work will be the focus if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed. 

There is a lot to learn. So, I think that it will be important to 

consult with my colleagues and see how they have set up their 

chambers, how they maximize efficiency. It is definitely probably 

the greatest challenge in the Court of Appeals, managing the very 

large docket and the need to produce quality opinions very quickly 

and to manage that balance. 

So, I think working hard is the number one thing. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. 

Let me follow up also with Ms. Easterly to respond to that question. Please describe how you would manage your chamber and delegate work. 

Ms. EASTERLY. I agree with Ms. Beckwith. I think that managing 

the workload for the Court of Appeals is the number one challenge. 

I think the key, at least from speaking to the judges who are currently on the court, is working hard but also working smart and 

doing the triage that you need to do to identify the cases that 

maybe really do not warrant much consideration, identifying the 

cases that are easily resolved, and then identifying the cases that 

really deserve some careful consideration, additional time. 

I have some experience doing that currently in my job where I 

have attorneys coming to me, bringing me cases and asking me to 

assist them, and I have to decide if this is something that I am 

going to have to devote a lot of resources to or something that I 

can assist them quickly with. 

So, I think that is the key—working hard and working smart. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much. 

This is my final question, and it is for both of you. During your 

years of practicing law, you have appeared before many judges and 

no doubt learned a great deal from observing them. 

Describe some of the qualities you hope to emulate as a judge 

and those you hope to avoid. 

Ms. Beckwith, please answer first followed by Ms. Easterly. 

Ms. BECKWITH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I think the appropriate temperament of a judge includes the 

qualities of evenhandedness and impartiality, patience, humility, 

and respect not only for the law, but for the parties who come before you. 

I think most lawyers have encountered judges who earn the respect and admiration of all the parties who come before them. I 

think that is often due in part to, on the one hand, judges who are 

12 

1The prepared statement of Ms. Norton appears in the Appendix on page 85. 

1The prepared statement of Mr. Strauss appears in the Appendix on page 86. 

very scholarly and thoughtful and take the cases very seriously and 

everybody knows that by the way they are engaged in court and, 

on the other hand, simply treating people well. 

Those are the qualities that I would ascribe to and obviously 

would hope not to fall into any arrogance or anything not respecting the litigants who appear in the court. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. Ms. Easterly. 

Ms. EASTERLY. Perhaps not surprisingly I agree with everything 

Ms. Beckwith said. I would just add that I think concretely one 

way to show respect for the parties who appear before you is to 

know the record, to be completely familiar with the facts, to have 

read the briefs carefully, and to give them that respect of having 

read their work product and taking it into consideration, and then 

to write a well-reasoned opinion that fully explains the reasons for 

your decision because someone is going to prevail and someone will 

not, and they both deserve a well-reasoned opinion for why you 

reached the outcome that you reached. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you so much for your responses and for 

your testimonies. There are no further questions at this time. 

Members of this Committee may submit additional statements or 

questions, which will be submitted to you in writing. 

The hearing record will remain open until the close of business 

on Monday, September 26. 

I would also like to note that Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes 

Norton and Paul Strauss submitted statements for the record in 

support of the D.C. nominees.1 I just wanted the nominees to know 

that. 

May I see the hand of Paul Strauss? Thank you so much for your 

participation. 

It is my hope that this Committee and the Senate will be able 

to act quickly on your nominations. Thank you very much for being 

here. I thank your families, and I must say your daughters really 

behaved well. 

Ms. EASTERLY. They did a good job, did they not? 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. Whatever noise they make is music 

to my ears. 

Thank you again, everyone. This hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:51 a.m., the Committee adjourned.] 

(13) 

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