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Senate Committee Quizzes Scriven For U.S. Judge Post

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By BILLY HOUSE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 2008

WASHINGTON - Tampa-based Magistrate Judge Mary S. Scriven moved a step closer Tuesday to a lifetime appointment as a United State district judge for the Middle District of Florida, with an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Scriven, who in 1997 became the first black U.S. magistrate in the Middle District, appeared alongside four other judicial picks by President Bush and his nominee for solicitor general at the Department of Justice.
Scriven was nominated by Bush in July to replace U.S. Judge Patricia Fawsett, who has been based in Orlando but moved into semi-retired "senior" status on Aug. 22. As part of its review, the committee Tuesday released a letter it received from GOP Sen. Mel Martinez calling her a "good choice."

"In her 11 years as a Magistrate, Judge Scriven has proven herself to be a committed public servant," wrote Martinez. "Judge Scriven has garnered significant courtroom experience in both criminal and civil matters. She has put in the time and effort necessary to understand and fairly decide issues of often little glamour, but critical importance to the litigants and lawyers before her."
Scriven also has the support of the state's Democratic U.S. senator, Bill Nelson.

Scriven, 45, could not be reached after the hearing. Federal judicial nominees typically do not comment on their prospects until the confirmation process is concluded.

The Middle District of Florida covers a wide area of the state, from the Georgia border in the northeast to south of Naples. There are five divisions, based in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Ocala and Fort Myers.

If confirmed as a federal district judge, Scriven would gain lifetime tenure, meaning she could be removed only through impeachment from the job that presides over criminal trials as well as civil cases. The salary for a federal judge is $169,300.

As a magistrate, her duties have included overseeing initial court appearances and setting bail for federal criminal defendants, and presiding over some civil trials. In a questionnaire she completed for the Judiciary Committee, Scriven said she has conducted about 25 bench and jury trials, along with more than 300 evidentiary hearings and other criminal proceedings.

In addition, she has worked as one of only two magistrate judges serving as mediators in Tampa, doing so in more than 200 cases.
Scriven is married and the mother and stepmother to four children.

The only potential conflicts of interest she lists in the questionnaire are cases involving her husband, Lansing Charles Scriven, his Tampa law firm, or Tampa General Hospital, on whose board her husband sits.

Born in Atlanta, Scriven received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and her law degree from Florida State University.

She entered private practice with the Tampa office of Carlton Fields and eventually became a partner there before taking on a magistrate judgeship in 1997. She also has taught as a full-time associate professor at Stetson University College of Law from 1996 to 1997.

Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or bhouse@tampatrib.com.

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