United States Senate

FOR IMMEDIATE CONTACT: Tara Trujillo (Udall) – 202-224-4334

RELEASE: Adam Bozzi (Bennet) – 202-228-5905
Friday, May 13, 2011

Brooke Jackson’s Nomination Passed out of Judiciary Committee

Nomination Heads to Full Senate; Udall, Bennet Urge Quick Action to Fill CO’s
2nd Emergency Vacancy
Today, U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet applauded the Senate Judiciary
Committee’s unanimous vote on Thursday to confirm Judge R. Brooke Jackson’s nomination to
serve as U.S. District Court Judge in Colorado. Jackson would fill the last vacancy on
Colorado’s U.S. District Court, which has been rated a judicial emergency by the Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts. Jackson received 36 bipartisan letters of support from Colorado
judges, lawyers, and law enforcement and government officials, including former U.S. Attorney
Troy Eid, current U.S. Attorney John Walsh, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and
former Speaker of the Colorado House Norma Anderson. His nomination can now be
considered before the full Senate.

“Colorado’s federal court hasn’t had a full roster of judges in three years, which overburdens the
sitting judges and creates a backlog of cases that are unfair to Coloradans. Brooke Jackson is
highly regarded within Colorado’s legal community and epitomizes the qualities we want in a
judge,” Udall said. “I urge the Senate to consider his nomination quickly so that Colorado will
get the judge we need to better serve our state. I also hope we can make some common-sense
changes in the way the Senate does business to ensure judges can be confirmed and seated more
quickly.”

“Judge Jackson is an impressively experienced and seasoned jurist,” Bennet said. “He has
extensive knowledge of a wide variety of types of cases important to the people of Colorado.
His many years overseeing thousands of cases in Colorado’s courts have prepared him now to
serve in a long-vacant seat on the federal bench.”

Udall and Bennet recommended Jackson for the position after a lengthy and detailed selection
process. Obama nominated Jackson for the first time in fall 2010, but for scheduling reasons, the
Senate Judiciary Committee wasn’t able to consider his nomination before the end of the 111th
Congress. Obama re-nominated him in January, on the first day of the 112th Congress; read
more about Udall’s response HERE.

Jackson now serves as the chief judge of the 1st Judicial District in Colorado, which covers
Jefferson and Gilpin Counties in the Denver area. He was appointed to the bench in 1998, and
named chief judge in 2003. Jackson received his J.D. in 1972 from Harvard Law School and his
A.B. in 1969 from Dartmouth College.
Jackson was one of six potential nominees sent jointly by Udall and Bennet to the Obama
Administration to fill two judicial vacancies. The Senators relied on advice of a diverse,
bipartisan advisory panel made up primarily of lawyers with federal court experience and co-
chaired by former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Kourlis, and Hal Haddon, a
prominent Colorado lawyer. Other panel members were Joseph Garcia, Dale Harris, Diane
King, Michelle Lucero, Raymond Moore, Lori Potter, Dan Reilly, and Ken Spann. The panel
reviewed 37 applications and interviewed the top 20. The selection system was based on a
model endorsed by the American Bar Association and embraced increasingly by Senators from
other states around the country. As requested by Obama, the Senators submitted three names for
each vacancy.

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