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The Senate confirmed Clark County District Court Judge Cristina Silva and UNLV law professor Anne Traum to join the U.S. District Court in Nevada.
The judiciary loomed large in the Senate this week as the vote on the Nevada judges came as the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to join the Supreme Court. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the court. Both Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) plan to meet with Jackson in the next few weeks.
The Senate also held procedural votes on legislation that would spur domestic manufacturing of semiconductors, the computer chips used in everything from smartphones to cars that have been in short supply. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plans to finish work on the legislation next week, which will result in the House requesting a conference committee. That panel will consist of both House and Senate members and reconcile differences between respective House and Senate versions of the bill.
The Senate initially passed its version in June. The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) would provide about $200 billion over five years for technology research to better position the nation against China. The House approved its version last month. The America COMPETES Act includes $52 billion to encourage domestic semiconductor manufacturing and $45 billion to improve the nation’s supply chains.
The House was not in session this week.
Silva and Traum
The Senate on Thursday voted 50 to 46 to confirm Silva and 49 to 47 to confirm Traum. Along with all Democrats who were present, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also voted for both nominations. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) voted for Silva.
A day before the vote, Cortez Masto spoke on the Senate floor in favor of their confirmation.
“These two nominees have received the support of many in Nevada’s legal community, including former Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, a former federal judge himself,” Cortez Masto said. “They have demonstrated their commitment to justice, the law, and their community. They represent the best of Nevada.”
Gov. Steve Sisolak tapped Silva in March of 2019 to serve on the Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, where she heard both criminal and civil cases. Between 2011 and 2019, she worked for the Nevada U.S. Attorney’s office, where she helped prosecute a wide range of cases involving violence, drugs and financial-based crimes.
Silva received her law degree from American University’s Washington College of Law in 2007 and her bachelor of arts from Wellesley College in 2001.
Traum has taught at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law since 2008. Before that, she was an assistant federal public defender in Nevada and she also spent two years, 2000 to 2002, in the Nevada U.S. Attorney’s office.
She also previously worked for the Department of Justice (DOJ), serving as a trial attorney in the DOJ’s environment and natural resources division.
The UNLV professor received her law degree from the University of California’s Hastings College of Law in 1996 and her A.B. from Brown University in 1991.
Traum will take the seat in Reno vacated by Judge Robert C. Jones, who took senior status, a form of semi-retirement for judges, in 2016. Silva takes Judge James C. Mahan’s place on the court following his move to senior status in 2018. Silva will be based in Las Vegas.
Following their confirmation, Rosen said in a release that their appointment would help ease the strain on short-handed court.
“These two seats have been open for years, which has caused…
Read More: Indy DC Download: UNLV professor, state court judge confirmed to federal bench