ACS South Florida: The Blue Slip: A Permanent Block to Progress

Join the ACS At-Large, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, DC, Houston, Los Angeles, Madison, Michigan, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York, San Diego, and Virginia Lawyer Chapters Lawyer Chapters for a discussion on the Blue Slip. The panelists will discuss their personal experience with the blue slip, work on the blue slip (including this recent report on the subject), and educate attendees on the Senate and political elements of the Blue Slip process and the potential for reform. The program will feature:

• Mary Barzee Flores: President Obama nominated Ms. Flores as a federal district judge in the Southern District of Florida in 2015, but her nomination died in the Senate after Senator Marco Rubio refused to return a blue slip. She previously served as a circuit judge in Miami-Dade County, Florida from 2003-2011, an assistant federal public defender in Miami from 1991 to 2003, and a shareholder at Stearns Weaver, a law firm in Miami.

• Jeremy Paris: Jeremy served as chief counsel for nominations and oversight on the Senate Judiciary Committee under former Committee Chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy. He is a public affairs expert, policy counsel, and principal at the Raben Group. He is also a board member for the ACS NE Ohio Lawyer Chapter.

• Paul Gordon: Paul is senior legislative counsel at People for the American Way and co-author of a study on the blue slip, “One Nation, Two Systems of Justice. Why It’s Times to Reform the Blue Slip Process.”