Brown Introduces Toledo’s Jeffrey Helmick U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced Jeffrey J. Helmick, of Toledo, at his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
PoliticalNews.me - Feb 16,2012 - Brown Introduces Toledo’s Jeffrey Helmick At Committee Confirmation Hearing On His Nomination To Serve As Federal District Judge For Northern Ohio
Sens. Brown, Voinovich Recommended Helmick to the White House in August 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced Jeffrey J. Helmick, of Toledo, at his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Helmick, a graduate of The Ohio State University Law School, has been nominated to serve on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. In May 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Helmick following a recommendation made by Brown and then-Sen. George V. Voinovich in August 2010. If confirmed, Helmick will fill the vacancy created by Judge James Carr, who assumed senior status on June 1, 2010.
“Jeffrey Helmick has a demonstrated commitment to the law and to justice. He’s the right choice for the federal bench,” Brown said. “Today, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have an opportunity to meet with Jeff so we can move forward on the important work of filling the vacancy for the Northern District of Ohio. I urge both parties to work together to bring Mr. Helmick’s nomination before the full Senate so that he can begin his critical and needed work in Northwest Ohio.”
If approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Helmick’s nomination must be approved next by the full Senate. Helmick’s nomination was based on the recommendation of a bipartisan judicial selection commission convened by Brown and Voinovich. The senators each nominated leaders in the legal community to serve on a 17-member bipartisan judicial advisory commission; to prevent any potential conflicts of interest, commission members residing in the Southern District of Ohio screened applicants for the Toledo vacancy.
Mr. Helmick received his J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution. He served on the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education and is a member of the U.S. Attorney’s Advisory Council for the Northern District of Ohio.
U.S. District Court judges are nominated by the President of the United States and must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. District Courts are general trials courts that hear both civil and criminal cases.
Brown’s statement, as prepared for delivery, is below.
It is my pleasure to introduce Jeffrey Helmick of the State of Ohio, a brilliant and distinguished lawyer, who has been nominated to serve as the next judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
As you know, Mr. Chairman, one of the great privileges of our job is meeting people who make us proud of our states. Jeff Helmick is a great example of that.
In 2007, then Senator George Voinovich, a Republican, and I assembled a commission of distinguished Ohio lawyers. It included leading including legal professionals from the southern district of the state – to suggest nominations for vacant judgeships in the Northern District of Ohio.
