Haynes takes the 5th

Bolstered by strong support from U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Catharina Haynes, a litigation partner in Baker Botts in Dallas and a former state district judge, won Senate confirmation of her nomination to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by unanimous consent April 10. Prior to the voice vote, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., said on the Senate floor, “I begin by acknowledging the support of Sen. Cornyn and his work with me to schedule her nomination for a hearing and report it from the Judiciary Committee last week,” according to a copy of Leahy’s statement posted on his Senate Web site. As noted in the statement, Leahy said Haynes’ confirmation not only filled the last vacancy on the 5th Circuit, “but it fills another vacancy listed as a judicial emergency.” President George W. Bush nominated Haynes for the 5th Circuit in July 2007, to fill the vacancy created when Judge Harold DeMoss Jr. took senior status. Haynes, a 1986 graduate of Emory University School of Law, served eight years as judge of the 191st District Court in Dallas, beginning in 1998. Haynes, a Republican, lost her bid for re-election in 2006. In a written statement, Cornyn says of Haynes, “Her legal experience and dedication to justice make her exceptionally well qualified to serve in this position.” Baker Botts spokesman Mike Cinelli, speaking on Haynes’ behalf, says, “She’s honored by the confirmation.”

-- Mary Alice Robbins