Saturday, August 13, 2011

Harry Reid Nominates Fed. Judge With Limited Experience

From the LVRJ: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has recommended a young Las Vegas lawyer as a replacement for U.S. District Judge Philip Pro, who is taking "senior status" at the end of the year.
Reid, D-Nev., said he sent Ariel Stern's name last week to President Barack Obama. Reid made the revelation Friday during a visit to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
"His father was a Cuban Jew," Reid said. "He was born in Mexico, speaks fluent Spanish. He's just a brilliant man."
Stern, 36, could not be reached for comment.
Reid makes recommendations for Nevada's lifetime judgeships to the White House because he is the state's senior Democrat in Congress and the president is a member of the same party.
Most senators use a committee to help them select judges, Reid said.
"I have my own committee, but it's composed of me," he joked. "And I really am happy with the choices I've made over the years."
http://www.lvrj.com/news/reid-selects-las-vegas-lawyer-for-u-s-district-court-127612203.html
Never mind the fact that Stern donated $1100 to Reid PAC, Friends of Harry Reid. Or that Reid is apparently giving him a gift of being a federal judge for running Reid's office.
How about the fact that stern has no judicial experience whatsoever and being only 36 means he has been a lawyer for about 10 years.
There is nothing in his bio that he clerked for a judge.
And looking at his bio from the company's web site, he rarely has spent time in front of a judge in a trial setting:
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an Internet Web log (blog) that had been sued for defamation and breach of contract. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a real estate developer that had been sued for specific performance of a purchase option agreement.
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an equipment lessor against a lessee that had breached its lease payment obligations.
http://www.akerman.com/bios/bio.asp?id=1381
It's nice that he obtains summary judgements but that doesn't give him trial experience.
And what kind of experience does he have in criminal law? None, apparently.
Immigration law? None
Other kind of law? He does have real estate law experience but other than that...
I am sure Stern is a nice guy but he lacks the experience in the courtroom and lacks experience in different areas of law.
So, the question is this: Is Mr. Stern the most qualified judicial candidate in Nevada? I highly doubt it.

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