Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today offered statements in support of Magistrate Judge Fernando M. Olguin’s nomination to the Central District of California and Northern District Judge Charles R. Breyer’s nomination to be a member of the United States Sentencing Commission. Both nominations were approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee today by voice vote.

Senator Feinstein’s statement on Magistrate Judge Fernando M. Olguin:

“I would simply like to urge my colleagues to support Judge Olguin, whom I recommended to President Obama for this appointment.

Judge Olguin is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He has a long track record of success as a Magistrate Judge, and I am very proud to support him.

He has served as a Magistrate Judge for 11 years, managing a docket of hundreds of cases at a time and issuing hundreds of published opinions, as well as nearly 2,000 decisions and orders. He has been reversed fewer than 10 times out of thousands of rulings. That is very impressive.

In 2011, he had the best record of any Magistrate Judge on the Court at working with litigants to settle their own disputes. This is very important in a busy district like the Central District, which in fact is the sixth-busiest district in the nation in terms of civil cases.

He enjoys the support of the law enforcement community, including Chief Charlie Beck of the L.A.P.D., L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, and the Los Angeles Police Protective League. They know first-hand that Judge Olguin is a fair and impartial adjudicator.

Judge Olguin also has extensive experience in practice, having worked in private practice for six years, at the Justice Department for three years, and for two years as a law clerk to a District Court Judge.

In short, Judge Olguin is fair, and he is seasoned. He has strong qualifications. I have no doubt he will serve with distinction on the bench, as he has done as a Magistrate Judge for 11 years. I urge my colleagues will support him.”

Senator Feinstein’s statement on District Judge Charles R. Breyer:

“Chuck Breyer is a distinguished jurist on the Northern District of California and good friend of mine, and I urge my colleagues to support his nomination to the Sentencing Commission.

Judge Breyer is 71, and he has had a long career in the law. He holds degrees from Harvard College and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

He clerked for Chief Judge Oliver Carter on the Northern District of California, and then worked as a prosecutor in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office for six years.

He also prosecuted and defended military courts-martial in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corp from 1969-73.

He spent six years in private practice, from 1973 to 1979, after which he rejoined the District Attorney’s Office as Chief Assistant District Attorney from 1979 to 1980.

He returned to private practice in 1980, working on complex commercial litigation until his appointment to the bench 17 years later, in 1997.

Judge Breyer has served with distinction on the bench, particularly with respect to sentencing.

He has sentenced over 640 criminal defendants during his time on the bench, often to long prison terms.

He has been on the front lines during a time of significant transition from mandatory Sentencing Guidelines to advisory Guidelines, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Blakely v. Washington (2004) and United States v. Booker (2005).

He also has focused on sentencing outside the courtroom, testifying before the Sentencing Commission in 2009 and serving as Chair of a Ninth Circuit Committee evaluating the impact of the Supreme Court’s landmark decisions in Blakely and Booker.

In short, Judge Breyer is well-qualified to serve on the Sentencing Commission, and I urge my colleagues to support him.”

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