The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted 78-21 to confirm Susan Bazis to serve as a district judge on Nebraska’s federal bench.
Bazis, a former trial attorney and U.S. magistrate judge, will serve a lifetime appointment as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska. She will replace U.S. District Judge John Gerrard, who assumed senior status — essentially a partial retirement — in February 2022.
Both of Nebraska’s senators, Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, supported Bazis’ nomination and urged their Senate colleagues to vote for her confirmation. Fischer said she recommended Bazis as a potential pick for the federal judgeship to President Joe Biden in early 2023.
“I recommended Judge Susan Bazis to the White House because of her undeniable skill, expertise and integrity,” Fischer said in a Tuesday statement. “The Senate did the right thing today by confirming Judge Bazis, and I have no doubt she will continue to serve our state well.”
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Twenty-one senators, all Republicans, voted against Bazis’ confirmation.
Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law who studies federal judicial nominations, said Bazis’ confirmation vote showed significant bipartisan support. Tobias said Bazis having strong support from Fischer and Ricketts, both Republicans, likely helped convince other Republicans to vote for her confirmation.
Bazis was selected to join the federal bench as a U.S. magistrate judge in 2017. Magistrate judges serve eight-year, renewable terms and are responsible for the management of most pretrial proceedings in federal criminal and civil matters. Unlike other federal judges, magistrates are not appointed by the president and do not require Senate confirmation.
Before joining the federal judiciary, Bazis spent about a decade as a Douglas County Court judge. Before that, she worked in various roles in private practice and briefly as an assistant public defender in Douglas County. She is a 1993 graduate of the Creighton University School of Law.
What you missed last week in notable Omaha crimes and court cases
Last week's local crime and court updates from The World-Herald.
An Omaha man accused of causing a Wednesday morning crash that ejected and killed a passenger in his pickup truck appeared in court for the first time Friday and was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
One person is in critical condition after being shot in North Omaha on Thursday night, according to authorities.
The fourth trial for an Omaha man accused in a 2019 double homicide ended in an acquittal on Monday.
U.S. Justice Department officials are seeking to permanently bar a tax preparation service that operates in Nebraska and three other states from doing business.