chairman and mrs. yates for being here. i enjoyed the visit we had and i know one of the the things that senator cornyn asked you about that the two of us have been working on is the trafficking issue and i know he asked you about some of the border issues and i went down with cindy mccain on this issue of trafficking and had a very good visit about that last year, but i thought i'd ask you what you have done in the northern district of georgia to address human trafficking in your former job and how you see it going forward, dmesically, with the department of justice. >> as we've talked about some here this morning, human trafficking is one of the most pressing criminal justice issues that we're facing in the department and in our country right now. when i became u.s. attorney five years ago, i highlighted as as an area to prioritize. we were one of the first offices in the country to form an act team, which is a task force. federal agentcyies as well as state and local prosecutors, to go after as aggressively as we could,

sally quillian yates: thank you mr. chair and senator blumenthal. it's been a privilege. >> coming up next, live on c-span your calls and comments on washington journal. then "newsmakers" with iowa and new hampshire gop chairs. then, a hearing with secret service director joseph clancy. >> tonight on "q and a" erik larson on his new book, "dead weight. mr. larson: the question gets complicated when you ask why was the ship allowed to enter the irish sea without the detailed warning that could have been provided. this has led to some very interesting speculation as to whether this chip was -- ship was set up for an attack by churchill or someone from the admiralty. it's interesting. i found no smoking memo. leave me, i would have found a smoking memo if it exists. there is nothing from churchill to jackie fisher, or someone else, letting the ship going to the irish sea. nothing like that. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern ann's and pacific. this morning, "usa today" investigative reporter, steve riley, talks about the nation's power grid. and, steve nardizz

mr. chairman. let me just ask you about olc opinions, ms. yates. it's been a tradition common to i think most recent administrations that olc opinions generally are not released, is that true? >> that's certainly my understanding, senator, yes. >> thank you. let me ask you about the bureau of prisons and mandatory minimums. my understanding is also that the policies on this issue have gone back and forth. i can remember a time when everybody was against mandatory minimums. then they were adopted by many states. my own feeling is that we really need to do more research and study on what is effective in deterring wrongdoers and lawbreakers in this area and just use the most effective, cost-effective policy, and you've rightly cited the costs of incarcerateing convicted criminals beyond the point where it makes any difference to rehabilitation or deterrence. and so i assume you'd be open to that kind of research and study. >> absolutely, senator. while i believe that mandatory minimums have a place in our criminal justice system, i believe that the mo

mr. chairman and thank you very much, ms. yates. i enjoyed the visit we had and i know one of the things that senator cornyn asked you about that the two of us have been working on together very hard is the trafficking issue and he asked you about some of the border issues and i actually went down there with cindy mccain on this issue of trafficking and had a very good visit about that last year but i thought i would just ask you about what you have done in the northern district of georgia to address trafficking in your former job and how you see it going forward domestically with the department of justice. >> well, as we've talked about some here this morning human trafficking is one of the most pressing criminal justice issues that we're facing in our department and in our country right now. when i became u.s. attorney five years ago i highlighted human trafficking as being an area that we were going to prioritize resources. we were one of the first offices in the country to form an act team which is essentially a task force of fe

mr. chairman. let me just ask you about olc opinions, ms. yates. it's been a tradition common to, i think, most recent administrations that olc opinions generally are not released, is that true? >> that's certainly my understanding, senator, yes. >> thank you. let me ask you about the bureau of prisons and mandatory minimums. my understanding is also that the policies on this issue have gone back and forth. i can remember a time when everybody was against mandatory minimums. then they were adopted by many states. my own feeling is that we really need to do more research and study on what is effective in deterring wrongdoers and law breakers in this area and just use the most effective, cost effective policy and you've rightly cited the costs of incarcerating convicted criminals beyond the point where it makes any difference to rehabilitation or deterrence. i assume you'd be open to that kind of research and study? >> absolutely, senator. while i believe mandatory minimums have a place in our criminal justice system, i believe that the most current

mr. chairman. let me just ask you about olc opinions, ms. yates. it's been a tradition common to, i think most recent administration's that olc opinions generally are not released, is that true? >> that's certainly my understanding, senator, yes. >> thank you. let me ask you about the bureau of prisons and mandatory minimums. my understanding is also that the policies on this issue have gone back and forth. i can remember a time when everybody was against mandatory minimums. then they were adopted by many states. my own feeling is that we really need to do more research and study on what is effective in deterring wrongdoers and law breakers in this area and just use the most effective, cost effective policy and you've rightly cited the costs of incarcerating convicted criminals beyond the point where it makes any difference to rehabilitation or deterrence. i assume you'd be open to that kind of research and study? >> absolutely senator. while i believe mandatory minimums have a place in our criminal justice system, i believe that the most current r

mr. chairman, to join senator isakson and congressman lewis to welcome sally yates and her family to the judiciary committee this morning. i want to echo their words and my colleagues this morning regarding miss yates' qualifications and her distinguished career in federal service. for years she has prosecuted the most violent criminal organizations in georgia. ms-13. and other notorious gangs. drug cartels, human smuggling, sex traffickers. the department and the people of georgia are fortunate to have benefited from ms. yates' work in the service of justice for so many years. so today i join my colleagues in welcoming her to the judiciary committee, and in congratulating her on the honor of this nomination. it's my privilege this morning, mr. chairman, that as a yellow jacket to welcome this bulldog to this committee. thank you. >> thank you both senators. and you're free to go if you want to go. otherwise we'd be glad to have you listen to us, as well. ms. yates, i welcome you to the senate judiciary committee. it's been a big day for you and your family. congratulations on your nomin

following smiley again interpreted smiley -- i was not quoting from yates i was quoting from atlanta cleaners and dyers citing smiley. thank you. >> mr clement you have five minutes left. >> thank you mr. chief justice. may it please the court, let me start with the definition of "legislature." obviously we can point to our favorite quotes from the framers. there are 24 34, 35 of the blue brief. the critical thing though is not what the framers meant by the legislature when they were talking broadly about plat call theory or the swiss canton of zug. what matters is when they were talking about assigning particular authorities in the constitution to particular components of the state government. and in that context as a number of you have pointed out, there is no doubt every time they assigned an authority to the state legislature they were assigning the authority to the representative body of the people. now, that takes us to the smiley case. and if the definition of legislature in the smiley case is what this case turns on, then with all due respect to my friends on the other side, we win. because smiley specifically talked, as just

mr. thornberry: thank you. [applause] >> the first time the judiciary committee will take up salley yates. she serves as the acting deputy attorney general an previously was the attorney general for the northern district of georgia. watch live coverage tomorrow morning at 10:00 eastern on c-span 3. later in the day the senate aviation panel will look at innovation safety and privacy concerns of drone aircraft. we'll hear from officials from the f.a.a. and amazon.com. live coverage starts at 2:30 eastern, also on c-span 3. texas republican senator ted cruz announced monday that he is running for president. here is part of what senator cruz said and you can watch his entire remarks at c span.org. >> i believe in you. i believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to reignite the promise of america. and that is why today i am announcing that i'm running for president of the united states. [cheers and applause] >> the house approved a resolution urging president obama to send weapons to ukraine in its fight against russian-backed rebels. the vote was 348-248. here's t

interpreted smiley in the -- >> i was not quoting from yates i'm quoting from atlanta cleaners and dyers, itself citing smiley. >> thank you. >> >> thank you, mr. chief justice, and may it please the court, let me start with the definition of legislature. obviously, we can point to our favorite quotes from the framers. there are 27 and 34 and 35 of the blue brief. the critical thing though, is not what the framers meant by the legislature when they were talking broadly about political theory or the swiss canton of zugg. what matters is when they were talking about assigning particular authorities in the constitution to particular components of the state government. and in that context as a number of you have pointed out there is no doubt every time they assign an authority to the state legislature they were assigning the authority to the representative body of the people. now, that takes us to the smiley case. and if the definition of legislature in the smiley case is what this case turns on then with all due respect to my friends on the other side, we win. because smiley specifically talked, as justice breyer alluded to the body question peop