[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 120 (Thursday, September 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9165-S9166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NOMINATION OF JANET C. HALL OF CONNECTICUT, TO BE U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE 
                    FOR THE DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Janet C. Hall, 
of Connecticut, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of 
Connecticut.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will be 2 minutes of debate equally 
divided. The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I support this judge. I would like to make 
a comment.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Senate is not in order. The Senator 
should be allowed to be heard.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.


                        Campaign Finance Reform

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I noted several of my colleagues, a number 
of my colleagues from the other side of the aisle, signed a letter this 
morning concerning campaign finance reform and a number of them came 
and spoke about the urgency of the issue. Obviously, we welcome that 
activity. But I want to point out, and point out in the strongest 
possible terms, that this issue has to be brought up in a bipartisan 
fashion. It is not 51 votes that are necessary in order to pass any 
legislation through this body on an issue of this importance, it is 
going to be 60 votes.
  I have been working with the majority leader in a most cooperative 
fashion on this issue. I believe that we can reach an agreement which 
would be satisfactory to all parties. I do not believe it will be 
helpful, in any way, to divide up on party lines on this issue.
  I again thank the majority leader but I also thank my colleagues on 
the other side of the aisle. I am confident we can move forward on this 
issue.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, A question has been raised about 
statistics. I would point out that during President Bush's last year, 
with the Democrats in the control of the Senate, by August we had 
confirmed 53 of the 65 nominees sent to us by the Republican President, 
notwithstanding the ``Thurmond rule'' which calls for a slowdown in 
confirmations during a Presidential year--53 out of 65.
  In this the first year of President Clinton's second term, the 
Republican-controlled Senate confirmed only 9 out of 61 judicial 
nominees sent by the President to the Senate by August. So the relevant 
statistical comparison is 53 out of 65 when Democrats were helping 
Republicans, but when Republicans are in control and there is a 
Democratic President, only 9 out of 61.
  I yield the remainder of my time to the distinguished senior Senator 
from California.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I thank the distinguished ranking member.
  Mr. President, while I am pleased that we are voting today on three 
judicial nominees and I am supporting them, I am concerned about those 
whom we are not voting upon--in particular two fine nominees from 
California.
  I am also concerned about what appears to me to be a plan to force 
the splitting of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by 
crippling its ability to do its work.
  Ten of the twenty-eight judgeships on that court are now vacant--36 
percent of the bench.
  I will ask unanimous consent that a table showing the status of each 
vacancy within the ninth circuit be place in the Record following my 
remarks.
  I believe that proponents of the ninth circuit split wish to keep 
these seats vacant as long as possible, so that the vacant judgeships 
can then be transferred to the new twelfth circuit, and filled by 
judges who they hope will be more in line with their own political 
philosophy.
  Unfortunately, this plan is substantially impairing the ability of 
the ninth circuit to do its job, and impeding justice for the millions 
of Americans who live within the ninth circuit --creating what the 
Honorable Proctor Hug, chief justice of the ninth circuit, has called a 
vacancy crisis.
  The time has come for the Senate to end this death by attrition, and 
act upon these nominations, so that the ninth circuit can get on with 
its work.
  These votes we are taking today will clear out all the judicial 
nominees who remain on the executive calendar, except for three, two of 
whom, as I have mentioned, are from California
  These two nominees, Margaret Morrow and Anthony Ishii, have had their 
nominations pending longer, both in the Senate and on the floor of the 
Senate, than have two of the three nominees upon whom we are voting 
today.
  Margaret Morrow was first nominated almost a year and a half ago, on

[[Page S9166]]

March 18, 1996. She was favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee 
on June 27, 1996, but the Senate failed to take further action upon her 
nomination before we adjourned.
  She was nominated again in the beginning of this year, and favorably 
reported by the committee again on June 12, 1997.
  Anthony Ishii was nominated on February 12, 1997, and has been on the 
floor since July 10.
  In contrast, Christopher Droney and Janet Hall were nominated on June 
5, 1997, and have only been on the floor since July 31.
  So while I am happy that we are acting upon their nominations, I hope 
that we will soon act upon the older nominations of Margaret Morrow and 
Anthony Ishii.
  Let's bring their nominations up, debate them if necessary, and vote 
them up or down.
  I urge the distinguished majority leader to do this, I thank the 
chair, and I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent a table regarding the ninth 
circuit vacancies be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the table was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Vacancy                               Nomination
   Court and vacancy created by--            Reason              date               Nominee              date   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           NINTH CIRCUIT                                                                                        
                                                                                                                
CCA:                                                                                                            
  Breezer, Robert R................  Senior................    7/31/96     ........................  ...........
  Canby, William C. Jr.............  Senior................    5/23/96     ........................  ...........
  Farris, Jerome...................  Senior................     3/4/95     McKeown, M. Margaret....       1/7/97
  Hall, Cynthia Holcomb............  Senior................    8/31/97     ........................  ...........
  Leavy, Edward....................  Senior................    5/19/97     Graber, Susan...........      7/30/97
  Noonan, John T...................  Senior................     1/1/97     ........................  ...........
  Norris, William A................  Senior................     7/7/94     Fletcher, William A.....       1/7/97
  Poole, Cecil F...................  Senior................    1/15/96     Paez, Richard A.........       1/7/97
  Wallace, J. Clifford.............  Senior................     4/8/96     Ware, James S...........      6/27/97
  Wiggins, Charles E...............  Senior................   12/31/96     ........................  ...........
CA-N:                                                                                                           
  Aguilar, Robert P................  Senior................    6/24/96     ........................  ...........
  Jensen, D. Lowell................  Senior................    6/27/97     Breyer, Charles R.......      7/24/97
  Lynch, Eugene F..................  Senior................    3/14/97     Jenkins, Martin J.......      7/24/97
CA-E:                                                                                                           
  Coyle, Robert E..................  Senior................    5/13/96     Ishii, Anthony W........      2/12/97
  Garcia, Edward J.................  Senior................   11/24/96     Damrell, Frank C........      2/24/97
CA-C:                                                                                                           
  Gadbois, Richard A. Jr...........  Disabled..............    1/24/96     Morrow, Margaret M......       1/7/97
  Hupp, Harry L....................  Senior................     1/1/97     ........................  ...........
  Rafeedie, Edward.................  Senior................     1/6/96     Snyder, Christina A.....       1/7/97
  Takasugi, Robert M...............  Senior................    9/30/96     Moreno, Carlos R........      7/31/97
CA-S: Rhoades, John S. Sr..........  Senior................    11/4/95     Lasry, Lynne R..........      2/12/97
HI: Fong, Harold M.................  Deceased..............    4/20/95     Mollway, Susan Oki......       1/7/97
OR:                                                                                                             
  Frye, Helen......................  Senior................   12/10/95     ........................  ...........
  Redden, James....................  Senior................    3/13/95     Aiken, Ann L............       1/7/97
WA-E: McDonald, Alan A.............  Senior................   12/13/96     ........................  ...........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, Ms. Hall is one of the premier litigators in 
the State of Connecticut, and I know that her impressive work 
experience, both in Government service and in private practice, along 
with her intelligence and character, will enable her to become an 
excellent Federal judge.
  After working in the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department 
from 1975 to 1979, Ms. Hall joined the Hartford law firm of Robinson & 
Cole, where she has been a partner since 1982. Since returning to 
private practice, she has handled numerous matters before both Federal 
and State appellate courts, and her work has focused primarily on 
complex commercial litigation.
  Ms. Hall is respected throughout Connecticut's legal community for 
her intelligence and sense of fairness, but she is best known for her 
dedicated work ethic. More than one associate at her firm described her 
as the hardest working, most prepared lawyer that they had ever known. 
Not only does Ms. Hall push herself, but she also expects a lot from 
those around her. Her former secretary said that the only time that she 
was bored during 14 years of working with Ms. Hall was when she was on 
maternity leave with her third child. However, while Ms. Hall can be 
tough on others, she always demanded even more from herself.
  Part of me is actually relieved that I'm no longer an attorney in 
Connecticut, because I anticipate that trying a case before Ms. Hall 
would not be an easy day's work.
  Janet Hall is unquestionably an excellent attorney, but she is also a 
person of great character and integrity. While Ms. Hall always worked 
hard to fulfill her responsibilities at her firm, she always managed to 
keep her career in perspective, and her family was always her top 
priority.
  After successfully arguing a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, she 
was discussing the case with a group of associates. When asked to 
describe what was the most important thing to remember about arguing 
the case before the highest Court in the land, she said, ``The most 
important thing was to bring my family.''
  In closing, Janet Hall is an honest, forthright, and intelligent 
individual, who is highly qualified to serve on the Federal bench, and 
all of my colleagues should be proud to vote in support of her 
nomination.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of Janet C. Hall, of Connecticut, to be 
United States district judge for the District of Connecticut? On this 
question, the yeas and nays have been ordered, and the clerk will call 
the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Arkansas [Mr. 
Hutchinson] is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kempthorne). Are there any other Senators 
in the Chamber who desire to vote?
  The result was announced, yeas 98, nays 1, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 238 Ex.]

                                YEAS--98

     Abraham
     Akaka
     Allard
     Ashcroft
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bryan
     Bumpers
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Cleland
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Coverdell
     Craig
     D'Amato
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Ford
     Frist
     Glenn
     Gorton
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grams
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kempthorne
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Moseley-Braun
     Moynihan
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nickles
     Reed
     Reid
     Robb
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Roth
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden

                                NAYS--1

       
     Faircloth
       

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Hutchinson
       
  The nomination was confirmed.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the 
nomination was confirmed.
  Mr. BOND. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.




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