SPRINGFIELD - Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni received widespread applause from elected officials following his confirmation Wednesday by the U.S. Senate as a federal judge in this city.
Mastroianni will fill a 3-year-old vacancy, following U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor's announcement in 2010 that he would take semi-retired status the following year.
Mastroianni was confirmed by a 92-2 vote after clearing the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee three months earlier. The nay votes were cast by conservative Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Mastroianni was nominated by President Barack Obama last year.
Neither senator offered a reason for his dissent on the floor during the vote. Spokesmen for both senators did not return calls for comment. But their disapproval was hardly a blip for Mastroianni, who won a $200,000 annual lifetime position with the confirmation.
"I watched it on C-SPAN with some of my staff here. It was an odd, indescribable feeling ... but thrilling," Mastroianni said during an interview just after the vote.
Mastroianni may be sworn in as early as late this week or early next week, according to Carl Tobias, a judicial expert and professor at the University of Richmond School of Law in Virginia.
"It's going to happen really quickly ... but, he may not start hearing cases for a couple of months," Tobias said, adding that Mastroianni will require a commission letter from Obama, which should happen quickly, and then be sworn in by the chief justice of the Massachusetts U.S. District Court.
Gov. Deval L. Patrick must appoint an interim district attorney for the six months between now and the general election for the seat in November. There are four Democratic candidates running, however, so the seat will likely be decided after the Sept. 19 primary.
A spokeswoman for Patrick said time frame to announce Mastroianni's replacement is not yet set.
"We congratulate Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni on his appointment to the federal bench. Governor Patrick will make an appointment in a thoughtful and expeditious manner so that the needs of Hampden County continue to be met," said Juli Hanscom.
Mastroianni said he has engaged in discussions with Patrick about the needs of the office, but that the choice is entirely up to the governor. The Senate confirmation comes amid state budget talks and the cold case trial of the man charged with the murder of Myrtle Marrett, a 90-year-old woman raped and beaten in her apartment in 1991.
A new cold case unit established by Mastroianni revived the investigation and linked a former maintenance worker, Faustino Diaz, to Marrett's killing through DNA evidence, according to prosecutors. The trial kicked off nearly simultaneously with the Senate vote.
"I have very mixed feelings leaving this office," Mastroianni said. "I truly love what I do; but I am beyond honored over this opportunity and excited for the future."
Mastroianni's ascent to the bench comes after that of a previous candidate, Hampden Superior Court Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder, fizzled. Kinder was recommended as the pick by former Sens. Scott Brown and John F. Kerry, but his nomination never came to be by the time Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey replaced them.
Warren, a new senior senator, convened a new search committee for the judgeship and Kinder withdrew his name from consideration.
"Mark Mastroianni is a true son of Western Massachusetts who brings impressive credentials and diverse experience to the federal bench. I am proud to have recommended his nomination to President Obama, and am very pleased the Senate has voted to confirm him. I have no doubt that he will have a long and distinguished career as a member of the judiciary," read a statement released by Warren's office.
Mastroianni, 49, of Westfield, was a former assistant prosecutor and longtime defense lawyer before running for office for the first time in 2010. He became something of a breakout star in politics after running as an independent and shellacking then-state Sen. Stephen J. Buoniconti, a Democrat, in the general election.
Mastroianni is leaving at the tail end of his first term. His near-unanimous confirmation came in a Senate that has been rife with filibusters - particularly for judicial nominations - in recent years.
U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said Mastroianni's confirmation was a positive sign that qualified candidates could cut through political red tape.
"Politics ought not to be the prevailing factor in judicial nominations," Neal said during a press briefing at the federal courthouse on State Street. "It's really a very good day for the four western counties of Massachusetts."
Mastroianni will be the sole district judge in the Springfield court, which covers Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin counties for federal criminal and civil matters. The courthouse will experience turnover it has not seen in two decades this year and in early 2015 with U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman retiring in January. The courthouse is also home to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Henry J. Boroff.
Tobias said Mastroianni's confirmation, along with two other federal judges on Wednesday, shows a glimmer of hope for a Senate often caught up in partisan skirmishes.
"Since they detonated the 'nuclear option' in November things have been moving a little," Tobias said. "But it's still hard to justify making people wait three months (to be confirmed) after the Judiciary Committee approves them."
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