Senate panel spares federal bench nominee Ana de Alba from grilling

Fresno County Superior Court Judge Ana de Alba, who grew up poor in South Dos Palos to farmworker parents, is a step closer to becoming the first Latina to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

De Alba survived the first round of questioning from the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning without grilling that Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and John Kennedy of Louisiana leveled at four other federal judge nominees.

“She was incredibly impressive,” said University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias, who watched the 2½-hour hearing. “She was very articulate. She talked about her family, and her background and education.

“She will be easily confirmed, and I think she’ll have Republican votes. She’s in great shape.”

It was notable, said Tobias, that Republicans “didn’t attack her like they did the others. They respected her.”

President Joe Biden nominated de Alba for the federal post in January.

Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey were the only ones who asked questions of De Alba.

Booker asked de Alba about her decision to bypass bigger paychecks in favor of public service.

“I come from parents who raised us with core values of humility, honesty, hard work,” replied de Alba, who was accompanied to the hearing by daughter, one of three brothers, a sister-in-law and some nephews.

“I could have stayed in the Bay area. I could have had a job that was more profitable,” said de Alba, who was appointed to the Fresno court by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018. “But I wanted to come home. I wanted to go back to the Central Valley. I wanted to do work that would help bring equality and justice to my community there.”

Booker praised de Alba.

“You are a credit to your community, and your loyalty to that community is extraordinary,” Booker told her. “You are your ancestors’ wildest dreams.”

Padilla, who presented de Alba to the 22-member committee, asked de Alba to share how her life experiences would translate to “your outlook from the bench.”

“My parents (Ana Celia and Liborio de Alba) were very big believers that we come to this country with humility, with honesty; that we work hard; that we ensure that we frankly give way more than we take,” responded de Alba. “Our entire life has been about that.”

De Alba spoke about not having a bed to sleep on until she was 15.

“I slept on the floor in a sleeping bag in a tiny little house that had very questionable plumbing with three older brothers, my mom and my dad,” she said. “At no point did we ever feel sorry for ourselves or feel like, man, we have not had the best of luck.”

De Alba spoke of the entire family working in the fields, and of helping her mother clean houses during school breaks. “That meant knowing that at the end of the day, we had each other and that’s all we needed.”

That meant, she added, that “we had to put our money together and almost shed a tear if we got a flat tire because that meant we didn’t eat that week because the money had to go towards getting a new tire.”

De Alba, who graduated from Dos Palos High School (1998), earned her undergraduate and law school degree at UC Berkeley.

She was a partner at Lang Richet & Patch (2013-18) where she focused primarily on employment, business, tort and construction litigation.

At Wednesday’s hearing, de Alba said her upbringing led her to fill “more than I was required to build” at the law firm and on the court.

“As a judge on the Fresno Superior Court bench, I handled a very high volume misdemeanor calendar, and I did so efficiently, especially in light of the fact that I had no prior experience in criminal law,” she said. “I work nights and weekends to get up to speed to make sure that I understood what the questions were that were going to be before me.”

She said that preparation and work ethic would continue if she gets confirmed to the federal post.

Also questioned Wednesday were federal circuit court nominees Nancy G. Abudu and Julianna Michelle Childs, and district court nominees Nusrat Jahan Choudhury and Natasha C. Merle.

Tobias, the law professor, said de Alba is sorely needed on the Eastern District Court. Last year, judicial officials halted all new civil cases in the Fresno courthouse because of the shortage of judges.

“That district has been underwater for over a decade,” said Tobias. “It’ll be great to get her on the bench. The caseload is just overwhelming.”

The Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on in about four weeks on the nominations and send them to the full Senate, which could confirm as early as June, said Tobias.

Responding to a question by Padilla, de Alba said diversity in the federal courts “gives us confidence that we’re being judged by people who understand all varied life experiences.”

“It gives you that feeling that one day a little girl from South Dos Palos who slept on the floor till she was 15 could sit before the Senate Judiciary Committee and potentially become a federal judge.”

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 27 de abril de 2022, 0:04 p. m..