11.20.24

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Latest Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Two Judicial Nominations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Benjamin J. Cheeks, nominated to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California; and Serena Raquel Murillo, nominated to be a U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California.

Durbin began the hearing by briefly introducing the judges before U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) spoke to the nominees’ qualifications.

Key Quotes:

“Today, we will hear from two judicial nominees, Judge Benjamin Cheeks, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, and Judge Serena Murillo…nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.”

“Congratulations to both nominees and their families and friends.”

Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.

Biographies from the White House are below:

Judge Benjamin J. Cheeks: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California

Judge Benjamin J. Cheeks has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California since July 2024. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Cheeks was a criminal defense lawyer in private practice at the Law Offices of Benjamin J. Cheeks, A.P.C. in San Diego from 2013 to 2024. From 2010 to 2013, Judge Cheeks served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. Earlier in his career, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office from 2003 to 2010. Judge Cheeks received his J.D. from the American University, Washington College of Law in 2003 and his B.A. from the University of Miami, Florida in 2000.

Judge Serena Murillo: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Central District of California

Judge Serena Murillo has been a judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court since 2015. She also served by appointment of the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court as an Associate Justice pro tem on the California Court of Appeal from 2018 to 2019. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Murillo served as a Deputy District Attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office from 1997 to 2014. Earlier in her career, she worked as an associate attorney at McNicholas & McNicholas in Los Angeles in 1997 and as a law clerk at Shernoff, Bidart, and Echeverria in Claremont, California in 1996. Judge Murillo received her J.D. from Loyola Law School in 1996 and her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego in 1993.

Today’s hearing continues the Committee’s work filling judicial and executive vacancies with highly qualified, diverse candidates who help ensure the fair and impartial administration of the American justice system.  Under the leadership of Chair Durbin, the Senate has confirmed 219 judges to lifetime appointments on the federal bench during the Biden-Harris Administration. Following the confirmation of Rebecca L. Pennell to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington, thirteen lifetime judges – including four circuit court nominees and nine district court nominees – are eligible for a vote on the Senate floor.

-30-