TRANSCRIPT: Majority Leader Schumer Remarks At Senate Judiciary Committee Introducing Margaret Garnett, Nominee for District Judge For The Southern District Of New York

Washington, D.C.–  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee introducing Margaret Garnett, nominated by President Biden to serve as District Judge for the Southern District of New York. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

I come before you today with great enthusiasm, because it is my honor to introduce an outstanding public servant this morning: Margaret Garnett, a proud resident of Brooklyn, a brilliant legal thinker, and someone whose entire life story has been defined, quite literally, by public service.

I was proud to recommend Margaret to President Biden to serve as a District Judge for the Southern District in New York and I’m confident that by the end of this hearing you will all understand why.

But first, a couple of guests, Margaret’s wonderful family.

I understand that her husband, Seth Copans, is here today. Where are you Seth, there you are.

And I am told Margaret’s parents Frank and Suzanne--as well as her siblings--are watching online.

Now, the first thing to know about Margaret Garnett is that her family tree is deeply rooted in public service.

Not only were her father and stepfather career Army officers, who retired with the rank of Colonel, not only was her grandfather a career military officer for the Army and the Air Force, but even her great-grandfather answered the call to our country, serving in the military and presiding as a judge at the Nuremburg Tribunal at the Mauthausen concentration camp after World War II.

In fact, eight consecutive generations of Margaret’s family have been West Point graduates – eight generations, I think that deserves a round of applause. And by the way, to all you West Point graduates, I was up there with Senator Gillibrand last week. They had terrible damage from the storm and were working very quickly to repair those beautiful buildings and that vital campus.

Now, in lockstep with the family tradition, Margaret has devoted her legal career to strengthening our nation, preserving our democracy, and ensuring all Americans have access to equal justice.

A graduate of Notre Dame, Yale, and of Columbia Law School, Margaret had a brief stint in private practice before clerking for the Honorable Gerard Lynch, one of the nominees I’ve made and put on the bench I’m most proud of, of the Southern District of New York, and that’s the very same court now she’s nominated at.

She had more than a decade of experience as a litigator in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District, one of the great U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the country, where she prosecuted cases ranging from murder, to robbery, to financial fraud, and sex crimes.

Fifteen times she tried a case all the way to a jury verdict while at the U.S. Attorney’s office, including U.S. v. John Larson, at the time the largest tax fraud case in U.S. history.

At the Office of the Attorney General, she oversaw a team of over 150 prosecutors, 130 investigators that covered a wide range of criminal matters. And she was a steady force at the New York City Department of Investigations, appointed by the mayor to lead the organization during the difficult times of the pandemic.

So, she’s had excellent work on the prosecutorial side of the law, but she is also a staunch defender of the rights of the accused.

In 2012, she was instrumental in exonerating five individuals wrongly convicted of murder. She once said that “Our job is to do justice, and that is a much broader task and quest than racking up convictions.”

Mr. Chairman, I believe that this kind of perspective - the ability to look at the bigger picture, the ability to see all sides of a case without prejudgment—is essential for judges on the federal bench.

That’s why our courts need more people like Margaret Garnett—someone described by her colleagues not just as brilliant, but wise; not just determined, but kind; not just an outstanding lawyer, but a true friend and defender of our system of justice.

So, again I say: Margaret Garnett would be an outstanding addition to the Southern District, and that is why I am so glad, so glad to support her nomination.

And Mr. Chairman, just to let your August committee know, we will continue focusing on confirming even more outstanding judicial nominees on the floor as we move forward.

Under this Administration, the Senate has now confirmed 140 judges, including 103 District Judges, many with bipartisan support, many whom have toppled longstanding barriers to the halls of justice. We have advanced more women nominees, 94 in total, more nominees of color, more nominees from unique backgrounds than we’ve seen in such a short period of time, just 2 and a half years.

We are really proud of this record, I am grateful for all the members on both sides of the aisle who’ve made it possible, and we will continue confirming outstanding judicial nominees like Margaret in the months and years to come. I thank the Committee for its courtesy.

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