Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today applauded the Senate Judiciary Committee’s approval of Judge Dale A. Drozd’s nomination to be U.S. District Judge in the Eastern District of California.

“Judge Drozd is well regarded in the legal community and among those who appear before him on a daily basis,” said Senator Feinstein. “Five different U.S. Attorneys who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations over the course of over 20 years have endorsed his nominations.”

Feinstein’s full statement, which was submitted for the committee’s record, is below :

“I would like to say to my colleagues that Magistrate Judge Dale Drozd enjoys my full support for his appointment to be a U.S. District Judge in the Eastern District of California.

Judge Drozd earned his Bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from San Diego State University in 1977, and his law degree from UCLA in 1980 where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif.

He began his legal career as a law clerk for a district judge in the same judicial district where he now serves.

Following his clerkship, Judge Drozd worked as a criminal and civil litigator in federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels for 14 years.

Then, in 1997, Judge Drozd was appointed to serve as a Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of California. In 2011, he became the Chief Magistrate Judge in that court.

He is well regarded in the legal community and among those who appear before him on a daily basis.

Five different United States Attorneys who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations over the course of over 20 years have endorsed his nominations.

Those former United States Attorneys include David F. Levi, who later served on the District Court and is now Dean of Duke Law School, as well as George O’Connell, Charles Stevens, Paul Seave, and McGregor Scott.

Their letter states: ‘We have all known Judge Drozd for many years and are also aware of his judicial reputation in the community. He is an effective, productive, fair, and balanced jurist who is widely respected in this district.’

Their letter further recognized Judge Drozd as ‘an outstanding magistrate judge,’ and went on to state that ‘he will be equally effective as a district judge.’

The President of the Sacramento Chapter of the Federal Bar Association wrote to the committee that although it is not typical for the Federal Bar Association ‘to endorse a particular candidate or nomination,’ Judge Drozd’s nomination is ‘uniquely easy to support.’

The letter further stated that Judge Drozd ‘is widely respected in our district and commands a high level of respect from attorneys who appear before him.’

I would also add a point from the U.S. Attorneys’ letter about the crushing caseload in this district. Their letter states: ‘[o]ur district has an extremely heavy case load and has been operating with a vacant judgeship for two and a half years. It is vitally important to the fair administration of justice that the long-vacant judicial vacancy in our Fresno district be promptly filled.’

As my colleagues may know, the Eastern District has only six judgeships for 55 percent of California’s land area and a population of nearly 8 million people.

The district currently has over 1,000 weighted filings per judgeship. It has topped over 1,100 in several recent years. This is about twice the national average. The Eastern District is consistently ranked at or near the top of federal districts needing additional judgeships.

I therefore urge my colleagues to support Judge Drozd’s nomination.”

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