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Senate panel to vote soon on Colorado judge nominees

By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 9, 2008 at 1:03 p.m.
Updated September 9, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.

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ChristineArguello

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ChristineArguello

Philip Brimmer

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Philip Brimmer

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The Senate Judiciary Committee could vote early next week on whether to recommend two nominees for federal judgeships in Colorado.

Christine Arguello and Philip Brimmer appeared before the panel Tuesday morning.

Republican Sen. Wayne Allard and Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar praised each nominee. Salazar called Arguello "a lawyer's lawyer," and Allard said Brimmer is "an outstanding attorney" who understands the proper role of the judiciary.

A majority of the Senate must vote in favor once the names are sent to the floor.

If confirmed, they would fill two of three vacancies on Colorado's federal bench.

Arguello, of Westminster, is managing senior associate counsel for the University of Colorado. She earned her bachelor's degree from CU in 1977 and became the first Hispanic from Colorado to attend Harvard Law School.

She worked in private practice and taught law at the University of Kansas. She also worked for Salazar as deputy state attorney general.

Brimmer, of Denver, is chief of the special prosecutions unit of the Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office. He earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1981 and graduated from Yale Law School.

He worked in private practice for seven years before joining the Denver district attorney's office in 1994. He moved to the U.S. attorney's office in 2001.

Salazar and Allard battled for months over the nominees. They reached an agreement over the weekend on Arguello, a Democrat, and Brimmer, a Republican.

A third nominee, Republican Gregory Goldberg, did not get a hearing.

Tuesday's hearing was the last scheduled before the Senate is expected to adjourn this month. Both senators said they are hopeful Arguello and Brimmer will be confirmed before the end of the term.

Comments

  • September 9, 2008

    2:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    HopiMedicineMan writes:

    Goldberg is the better of the three by far. Judges who are finally picked are a lot like the lowest bidder. And no government job does more to destroy culture: American, Jewish, Christian, Aboriginal, than federal judges.