WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-Md.) today at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee introduced Paula Xinis to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. If confirmed, Ms. Xinis will occupy the seat formerly held by Judge Deborah Chasanow who took senior status in October 2014.
“When Senator Mikulski and I seek out Marylanders to recommend for federal judgeships, we look for the best nonpartisan nominees with the highest ratings from their peers. Paula Xinis is that nominee. She has an appreciation for the rule of law, a respect for the separation of branches of government, and firm roots in Maryland’s law community. In my years in the United States Senate, I have never been more confident in a nominee’s ability to uphold the solemn responsibilities of judgeship on the federal bench,” said Senator Cardin. “I am impressed with her vast legal knowledge and her long record of enriching her community through pro-bono work and impactful volunteerism with groups like the House of Ruth. Paula Xinis understands the important role she could play in strengthening our society and I thank her for her willingness to serve. I hope the Senate will move quickly to confirm this immensely qualified nominee.”
“I was proud to recommend Ms. Xinis to President Obama and am so pleased that she has been nominated to the United States District Court of Maryland,” Senator Mikulski said. “When I consider nominees for the federal bench, I have four criteria: absolute integrity, judicial competence and temperament; a commitment to core constitutional principles, and a history of civic engagement in Maryland. Ms. Xinis not only meets these standards, she exceeds them. Maryland deserves to have highly qualified judges who will uphold the law to provide equal justice for all, and we have that in Ms. Xinis.”
MS. PAULA XINIS
Paula Xinis, of University Park, Maryland, joined the law firm of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy in Baltimore in 2011 as a senior trial attorney and became a partner in 2013. At Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, Xinis practices both civil and criminal litigation. Previously, Xinis served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Maryland from 1998 to 2011, where she also served as the Director of Training for the office from 2006 to 2011. Xinis began her legal career as a law clerk for Judge Diana Gribbon Motz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1997 to 1998. She received her J.D. in 1997 from Yale Law School and her B.A. with highest distinction in 1991 from the University of Virginia.
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