Senators poised to name Martin to federal appeals court

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Senators grilled President Barack Obama’s nominee for the federal appeals court in Atlanta over her controversial ruling in a recent child sex case, commended her for her overall record and appear poised to approve her nomination to the full Senate...

The Senate Judiciary Committee could vote on whether to approve Martin’s nomination within the next several days. If so, the full Senate could expect to consider her nomination by Aug. 7, when it begins its month-long recess.

Martin, 53, was appointed to the district court bench in 2000 by President Bill Clinton. A native of Macon, she also served as a U.S. Attorney and as an assistant attorney general in Atlanta. The White House first contacted her in April about the appeals judge opening, and her nomination was formally submitted last month. If confirmed by the Senate, she would replace retiring Judge R. Lanier Anderson III on the 12-member appeals court.

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/senators-poised-to-name-103711.html


More about her nomination here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8485199

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1. You can watch the hearing here:

http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=4006

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2. More on BLT: 11th Circuit Nominee Questioned on Sentencing

Senate Republicans said today that they plan to support President Barack Obama's nominee for a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, despite a controversial ruling she issued last year finding that a mandatory minimum sentence was unconstitutional.

The ruling involved Kelly Farley, who on a visit to Georgia planned to meet and have sex with a woman and her 10-year-old daughter. In fact, the woman was part of a federal sting operation, and agents arrested Farley when he arrived at the Atlanta airport. He was found guilty in a bench trial of using the Internet to entice a child to have sex and of crossing state lines with the intent to have sex with a child.

Before sentencing Farley, Judge Beverly Martin issued a 26-page ruling (pdf) declaring that the mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years would violate the Eight Amendment’s protection against “cruel and unusual punishments.” She later sentenced him to 19 years, and the Justice Department has appealed her ruling to the 11th Circuit.

http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/07/11th-circuit-nominee-questioned-on-sentencing.html

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3. Picture of her from the hearing: