Murray Applauds Nomination of Ricardo Martinez as U.S. District Court Judge for Western Washington

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Today, President Bush nominated Ricardo Martinez as the new U.S. District Court Judge for the Western Washington District. U.S. Senator Patty Murray met with Magistrate Judge Martinez last week and has worked closely with the Administration and Senator Cantwell to select a nominee for this important post.

Murray’s statement follows:

“I strongly support President Bush’s nomination of Ricardo Martinez to the position of U.S. District Court Judge from Western Washington. I worked with the President and Senator Cantwell to choose a nominee from a list of very qualified candidates.

Ricardo Martinez has been a distinguished Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court’s Washington District. He has also served Washington state as Superior Court Judge and a King County prosecutor. Judge Martinez has the impressive credential of being named the first Drug Court judge in Washington state and worked tirelessly to ensure the success of this program, which uses treatment services as an alternative to incarceration.

Judge Martinez embodies the type of community-oriented, even-handed solutions that are the mainstay of our judicial system.

Judge Martinez clearly meets the standards of fairness and adherence to the law that we expect of our federal judges. Outside of his numerous professional credentials, I have met with him, and I have been impressed by his professionalism and decency. It is my pleasure to support the nomination of Judge Martinez to the federal bench, where he will continue to serve the people of Washington state well.”