AFJ Letter of Support for Veronica S. Rossman

The Honorable Richard Durbin
Chairman
Senate Judiciary Committee

Dear Chairman Durbin:

On behalf of the Alliance for Justice (AFJ), a national association representing over 120 public interest and civil rights organizations, I write to express strong support for the confirmation of Veronica Rossman to serve as judge on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

While still a young child, Ms. Rossman came to the United States with her family as political and religious refugees, fleeing antisemitism in Russia. She attended Columbia University and the University of California, Hastings College of Law, then clerked for Chief Justice A. William Maupin on the Supreme Court of Nevada.

Ms. Rossman’s legal career has been impressive; she has extensive courtroom experience from over 12 years of service as a Federal Public Defender in Colorado, representing over 250 clients at both the trial and appellate level. In fact, she has represented clients in cases arising out of every judicial district in the Tenth Circuit. She currently serves in a supervisory role in the Defender’s office, and in recent years has helped respond to the new circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, she has advised attorneys on making use of compassionate release and home confinement during the pandemic and represented a medically vulnerable 63-year-old man who contracted COVID-19 in prison.

In addition to her admirable work as a public defender, Ms. Rossman has an impressive record as a civil litigator. While an associate at Morrison & Foerster, she worked on one of the largest international patent cases in history, conducting depositions, working with witnesses, and assisting at trial. And while at Mastbaum & Moffat, she worked on additional antitrust and intellectual property matters, including representing an employee alleging his name and professional reputation had been improperly used by his former employer.

Beyond her direct legal advocacy, Ms. Rossman has extensive appellate experience from her previous work for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit as a Staff Attorney. In this role, she reviewed cases on appeal and provided recommendations to Circuit Judge screening panels set to hear the cases.

Ms. Rossman would bring an important perspective to the bench based on her work representing many of the most vulnerable in our society. If confirmed, she would be the only public defender to sit on the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The Tenth Circuit, and the federal bench as a whole, sorely needs more judges who have spent their careers preserving and protecting the constitutional rights of all.

Ms. Rossman is incredibly well-qualified, and the Senate should expeditiously confirm her to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Sincerely,
Nan Aron
President