Senate Confirms Obama Nominees Recommended by Norton for Two Important Law Enforcement Posts in D.C.

Senate Confirms Obama Nominees Recommended by Norton for Two Important Law Enforcement Posts in D.C.

November 18, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC – The Senate today confirmed, by unanimous consent, Michael Hughes for U.S. Marshal for the Superior Court for the District of Columbia and Nancy Ware for Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA), both of whom Norton recommended to President Obama. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs approved both nominees earlier this month.

The Superior Court Marshals and CSOSA are federally funded, but their missions are law enforcement exclusively for the District of Columbia. The Superior Court Marshals provide security for judges and D.C. prisoners, among other duties. CSOSA helps citizens returning from prison transition into civil society. Both are critical elements of law enforcement and public safety in the District. "Michael Hughes and Nancy Ware are outstanding professionals who are fits for a division and an agency that have long needed first-rate leaders," Norton said. "They now begin their work not only with my full confidence, but as nominees of President Obama who were confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate."

Hughes, who has spent his entire career since graduation from college in the U.S. Marshals Service, rose steadily in positions throughout the agency before becoming Chief of the Office of Crisis Services in the Tactical Operations Division. "Michael Hughes brings unusually broad experience from his 21 years as a U.S. Marshal to the Superior Court division," Norton said. "He has the essential combination of field and management experience, a calm and diplomatic temperament, and proven strong, patient, problem-solving leadership. The Superior Court Marshals office, which has been without top leadership for years, needs the qualifications Michael Hughes will bring to the division."

Ware served from 2002-2010 as executive director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), an independent agency established by Congress to help coordinate the unique, overlapping and joint relationships between the District and federal law enforcement authorities. CJCC members include the U.S. Attorney for the District, the D.C. police chief and other city officials, the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the chairman of the U.S. Parole Commission. "Nancy Ware has spent much of her career assisting District and federal law enforcement agencies resolve issues created by the unique interlocking relationship between the District and federal criminal justice systems," Norton said. "Her decades of experience directly related to program development and implementation and management of large budgets and workforces make her ideally suited to lead CSOSA."

President Obama, like President Clinton, granted the Congresswoman senatorial courtesy to recommend federal district court judges and other important federal law enforcement officials in the District. She recommended Hughes and Ware from a number of candidates screened by her 17-member Federal Law Enforcement Nominating Commission, chaired by Pauline Schneider, a former chair of the D.C. Bar and a partner at the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.