Corey Maze of Montgomery on Wednesday was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 62-34 vote to be a federal District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama.

Maze, a native of Centre, was nominated for the judgeship by President Donald Trump in May 2018. In October, he appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration of his nomination and was favorably reported out of the committee.

Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Doug Jones (D-AL) voted “yea” on Maze’s confirmation on the floor Wednesday.

In a statement afterwards, Shelby lauded the successful outcome.

“Corey Maze’s confirmation to be a district judge for the Northern District of Alabama is another important step in the shaping of our courts,” Shelby said. “His strong commitment to the rule of law and ability to adhere to the highest standards of judicial efficacy will allow him to excel in this esteemed role. Corey Maze exemplifies all of the characteristics of a model judge, and I am honored to have played a part in his confirmation today.”

Until his confirmation, Maze was serving as a special deputy attorney general for the state of Alabama, where he was also chief of the attorney general’s Special Litigation Unit.

Congratulations to my former deputy Corey Maze! A great addition to the federal bench! https://t.co/XKeFjEmX2W

— Luther Strange (@lutherstrange) June 12, 2019

Prior to that role, Maze served as the solicitor general of Alabama from 2008 to 2011.

He has a distinguished record of public service, beginning his career as an assistant attorney general in 2003. Maze earned his Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice, summa cum laude, from Auburn University and his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center.

Additionally, his experience in the courtroom is impressive, as Maze has served as lead counsel at all three levels of state and federal courts, including three cases in which he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. He also authored three Supreme Court amicus briefs and won a National Association of Attorney’s General “Best Brief” to the Supreme Court Award in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

In a statement on Wednesday, Attorney General Steve Marshall extolled the confirmation.

“Through its confirmation vote today, the U.S. Senate acknowledged what those of us in the Alabama Attorney General’s Office already know,” Marshall emphasized.

“Corey Maze is abundantly qualified to serve on the federal bench,” the attorney general outlined. “His record as Solicitor General of the State of Alabama and Special Deputy Attorney General is deep and exemplary. He shepherded the State’s Special Litigation Unit acting as primary counsel in many complex cases ranging from the landmark 2010 BP oil spill case to the state’s opioid litigation.”

After Andrew Brasher’s confirmation in May to serve as U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama, Maze becomes the second employee from the attorney general’s to be confirmed to the federal bench this year. Brasher was serving as solicitor general until his confirmation.

“I was pleased to support Mr. Maze’s nomination by President Trump, and I join all of his colleagues and friends in congratulating him on his confirmation as federal judge for the Northern District of Alabama,” Marshall concluded.

Maze’s confirmation marks the ninth of Alabama’s federal judicial nominees to have been nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate, many having been originally nominated by the president in 2017.

Shelby has consistently decried the historic obstruction by Senate Democrats that has occurred during the Trump administration’s attempt to confirm judges.

The previous six presidents combined faced a total of 24 procedural votes on judicial nominees while Trump faced more than 100 during his first two years in office alone.

However, in April, the Senate voted to reduce post-cloture debate time from 30 hours to two hours for certain executive and federal judicial nominations, including district court appointments like Maze’s, preventing further delay on confirming hundreds of qualified nominees. Since this change, the Senate has confirmed nearly twice as many nominees in half the time.

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn