U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, on Wednesday praised the Senate confirmation of Emily Marks of Montgomery to be a U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama and Jeffrey Beaverstock of Mobile to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Alabama.
Both Marks and Beaverstock were nominated by President Donald J. Trump (R) in September 2017.
“The confirmation of Emily Marks and Jeff Beaverstock is a critical step in ensuring that our courts are shaped by judges who will fairly interpret the law,” said Senator Shelby. “These two highly-qualified nominees with conservative values are excellent choices by President Trump. Both Marks and Beaverstock are devoted to upholding our Constitution as it is written. I congratulate them and am confident that our nation will benefit from their honorable service.”
Democrats have been using procedural roadblocks to slow the confirmation of Trump nominees. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has responded by requiring that the Senators work through what is normally the August recess. This move is expected to make great progress at getting more of Trump’s nominees confirmed.
In October 2017, Marks and Beaverstock both appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for their nomination hearing. Two months later, their nomination was reported out of committee for consideration by the full Senate.
Marks has practiced law in Montgomery since 1988. She has specialized in labor and employment law, civil rights law, and appellate practice, and routinely lectures on those topics before employers and other members of the bar. Marks earned her bachelor’s degree from Spring Hill College and her legal degree from the University of Alabama School of Law, where she served as chair of the John A. Campbell Moot Court Board and as a senior editor of the University of Alabama Law & Psychology Review. Marks is the former president of the Montgomery Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and currently serves as chair of the Volunteer Lawyers Program for the Alabama State Bar. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Federal Defenders Program.
Beaverstock has practiced law in Mobile, where he has focused on civil and commercial litigation in state and federal courts. Prior to his time as an attorney, he served on active duty for four years as an Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army and has served in the U.S. Army Reserve since leaving active duty. Beaverstock currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army (Reserve) and is the Chief of Contract and Administrative Law for the 377th Theater Sustainment Command. Beaverstock earned his bachelor’s degree from The Citadel and was selected as the Distinguished Military Graduate and as the Most Outstanding Army Cadet. He earned his legal education from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he served as managing editor of the Alabama Law Review. Currently, Beaverstock is the president of the Board of Directors of Ransom Ministries, chairman of the Administrative Board of Christ United Methodist Church in Mobile, and also serves as a Cub Scout Den Leader.
Following the approval of Marks and Beaverstock, two Alabama judicial nominees that were nominated by President Trump in 2017 are still awaiting confirmation. In June 2018, Annemarie Axon of Birmingham was confirmed to be a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama.
Shelby’s office said that historic obstruction by Democrats has occurred during this Administration’s attempt to confirm judges. The previous six presidents combined faced a total of 24 procedural votes on judicial nominees while President Trump has faced more than 100 during his first two years in office.
