{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://paulsen.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=22&itemid=1933", "Paulsen: Justice Stras One Step Closer to Serving Minnesotans on the Bench", "2017-11-29", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "MN", "Erik Paulsen", "P000594", "paulsen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.\u00a0\u2013 Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03) issued the following statement regarding today\u2019s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing of Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court David Stras for his nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cThis hearing was long overdue for a qualified, fair-minded legal scholar,\u201d said Congressman Paulsen.\u00a0\u201cI am confident that Justice Stras, who has received widespread praise from both sides of the aisle over an impressive career in law, will serve Minnesotans well on the Court of Appeals.\u201d\u00a0\r\n\r\n\tEarlier this year, Congressman Paulsen sent two letters, along with Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-06) and Congressman Jason Lewis (MN-02), to the Trump administration recommending Justice Stras. In a Star Tribune op-ed over the summer, he continued to advocate for Justice Stras\u2019s confirmation as Minnesota\u2019s senators delayed moving his nomination forward by not turning in their \u201cblue slips.\u201d Earlier this month, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (Iowa) announced Justice Stras\u2019s hearing. A vote for his confirmation is not yet scheduled.\r\n\r\n\tJustice Stras has served on the Minnesota Supreme Court since he was appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty in 2010. In 2012, he was elected to a six-year term on the state\u2019s highest court. Prior to his service on the Minnesota Supreme Court, Justice Stras clerked for Justice Melvin Brunetti of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Justice J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He also served as a member of the University of Minnesota Law School faculty from 2004 to 2010, and has written articles for several law reviews as well as authored a casebook still published today.\r\n\r\n\tCongressman Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus.\r\n\r\n\tFor more information on Congressman Paulsen\u2019s work in Congress visit\u00a0paulsen.house.gov.\u00a0\r\n\r\n\t###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://paulsen.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=22&itemid=1933"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.717486185953021, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}