Family hears judicial nominee testify at Senate hearing

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WASHINGTON — Miranda Du, who came to the United States in childhood as a Vietnamese refugee, took a step Tuesday toward becoming a federal judge in Nevada.

Sixteen members of Du’s family dotted the audience as she was questioned at a confirmation hearing by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was nominated by President Barack Obama in August to sit on the U.S. District Court for the state.

Du, from Reno, is a partner in the firm of McDonald Carano Wilson LLP, where she handles employment law and civil litigation. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he proposed Du for a judgeship after she was brought to his attention by his son Leif, a Northern Nevada attorney.

Reid called Du "an American success story. She is going to become a fine judge."

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., also said he backed the nominee.

Du, 41, was brought to the United States at age 9 by her parents, who fled Vietnam by boat for Malaysia after the North Vietnamese took control. The family eventually moved from their initial sponsor’s home in Alabama to the Bay Area in California.

Du joined the McDonald Carano firm in 1994 after graduating from law school at the University of California, Berkeley.

"Having been born and raised initially in a country where the rule of law was not respected gave me an appreciation for the rule of law in our judicial system," Du told senators. "One of the reasons I decided to go into law is I wanted to show my family that in this country we can be a part of the system and do well."

While Du’s life story was highlighted during the session, she also was questioned about her experience and about a 2007 federal case in which she was sanctioned.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., noted Du in private practice has mostly handled the defense in civil cases, but she said she would not bring a bias for the defense to her work as a judge.

"I believe a judge’s role is to look at the facts and apply the law and to be fair and open to everyone before the court," she said.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, questioned Du on her handling of a case in which she was sanctioned for what the Nevada federal court concluded was a faulty complaint against a local unit of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Her client, the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, was directed to pay the union’s legal fees in 2007 after the court said Du "acted recklessly."

"I don’t believe I was reckless in that case," Du told Lee. "We certainly made a mistake and didn’t take the best course of action."

Du received a mixed rating from the American Bar Association’s 15-member Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. According to the ABA, a "substantial majority" rated Du "qualified," while a minority rated her "not qualified."

Reid, who has been critical of the ABA’s system, said Du’s rating should not affect her confirmation by the full Senate. Gloria Navarro, another Reid judicial choice, was confirmed by the Senate last year after receiving a similar mixed rating.