[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 27 (Friday, March 13, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1919-S1920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            ILLINOIS NOMINEES: MIKE McCUSKEY AND PAT MURPHY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I seek recognition to speak to an issue 
which involves our Executive Calendar.
  Since November of last year, there have been two names pending on 
this calendar of judicial appointees for my home State of Illinois. One 
is Patrick Murphy, of Marion, IL, to be U.S. District Court Judge for 
the Southern District. The other is Michael McCuskey, who is seeking 
the position of District Judge for the Central District of Illinois. It 
is unusual that these two nominees would have been on the calendar for 
such a long period of time, and the situation is aggravated by the fact 
that these vacancies are very serious, creating, in fact, what has been 
characterized as a judicial emergency.
  The Southern District of Illinois has the second oldest judicial 
vacancy in the Nation. The Southern District, for which Mr. Murphy is 
seeking this confirmation, has been without this Federal judge for 
1,952 days. In the Central District of Illinois, it has been more than 
1,000 days since that judgeship has been filled. In fact, the exact 
number is 1,255 days.
  There are four judgeships in the southern district, two vacant. 
Senator Carol Moseley-Braun and I have proposed Mr. Murphy and Judge 
David Herndon, of Alton, to be named to fill those spots. Mr. Murphy is 
the only candidate who has reached the calendar to this point, but we 
are hopeful that Judge Herndon will as well. This 50 percent vacancy 
rate in one judicial district is much, much higher than the 10 percent 
vacancy rate which we have experienced around the Nation. In the 
Central District of Illinois, where I live, the numbers are exactly the 
same; half of the judges have not been appointed. Of course the obvious 
question is, What is wrong with these two nominees? Why would they sit 
on the calendar of the U.S. Senate for over 1,000 days? They clearly 
must have very serious problems. Exactly the opposite is the case.

  These two gentlemen, Mr. Murphy and Judge McCuskey, were nominated by 
President Clinton on July 31, 1997. They were unanimously recommended 
by the Judiciary Committee on November 6 of the same year. They have 
been sitting on this calendar for 127 days with absolutely no one 
raising questions as to their qualifications for the job.
  What happens to a person who finds himself in this predicament? I 
have talked to many of them. Their lives are changed. The prospect of 
being appointed to the Federal bench makes life difficult on a 
professional and personal basis.
  Judge McCuskey has a family. He is trying to find a place for his 
family to live. Think about buying a home and not knowing when you can 
move into it, and then the fear that if you move too soon, you will 
disqualify yourself from your previous judgeship. That is what he is 
facing.
  His family is going through a lot of turmoil this week because they 
had thought surely within 100 days the U.S. Senate would act on this 
nomination, but it has not happened.
  Mr. Murphy is in the private practice of law. We have spoken from 
time to time. He has important cases representing people from his part 
of Illinois, and people are wondering: ``Pat Murphy, are you going to 
be around? Can we count on you? Will you take this case to trial? 
Should we bring business to your office?''
  All of these things weigh heavy on a person who has decided to make 
this commitment to move forward and ask to be appointed to the Federal 
bench.
  I hope that Members of the Senate, those who will read my remarks and 
those who hear them, will understand that this type of thing is more 
than an inconvenience. It is a hardship that we should not impose on 
two people for whom there is no controversy.
  Let's take a look at the Central District of Illinois. There are 162 
cases in that district that have been pending for more than 2 years. 
Imagine if you were to say at some point, because of your business or 
family concerns or personal needs, that you had to go to court, and 
then you went into court with an attorney and said, ``How soon will 
this be resolved?''
  And they said, ``At least 2 years.''
  ``Two years?''
  We can do better.
  Fifty-five of the cases in the central district have been there for 
more than 3 years; 30 of the suits are related to civil rights cases, 
people who feel they have been discriminated against; 21 are civil 
rights suits; 15 are contract disputes; 9 are personal injury cases; 11 
are product liability suits; and 2 are patent cases.
  Let me tell you how this works, since I have practiced law in this 
district. When the day comes for you to go to trial after waiting 2 
years, you better hope there isn't some intervening thing or event that 
ends up postponing it. A friend of mine took a case and, after waiting 
for 19 months, finally went to trial only to have a death in the family 
of one of the other attorneys, causing them to postpone the trial date. 
Then, of course, they were told they would have to wait for at least 
another year before the case could be tried.
  When the Senate fails to do its work and confirm judges, the hardship 
is imposed on ordinary people in America and they are puzzled: ``Well, 
why is this the case? Why does it take so long for me to get my day in 
court?'' Is justice delayed truly justice denied? In many cases, it is. 
In this situation, unfortunately, the burden is on us, those men and 
women who sit in this Chamber and have the singular responsibility to 
confirm Federal judges.
  The Southern District of Illinois is another sad story when it comes 
to the impact of the vacancies. Since 1992, case filings have increased 
9 percent. People are still going to the courthouse; 58 cases there 
have been pending for more than 3 years; 7 have been pending for 10 
years. Why is that the case? Because Judge Phil Gilbert, the active 
Federal judge in this district, with Judge Paul Riley, are working 
overtime to try to deal with a heavy criminal docket which must be 
dealt with first under the law and, of course, we want them to, and in 
trying to deal with that docket, they keep postponing the civil docket. 
So people wait.
  In one of those 10-year-old cases in the southern district, a 
plaintiff sustained serious neck and back injuries that required him to 
pay out $15,000 in hospital bills. He was operating a mine shuttle cart 
that hit a small obstruction. The cart had no shock absorbers, and he 
suffered a serious injury, and now he waits for his day in court.
  When you take a look at the statistics that have been compiled by the 
administrative office of the U.S. Court System as to the median amount 
of time that it takes a civil case to come to trial, it tells the story 
even more graphically.
  The Southern District of Illinois has the longest waiting period, 23 
months. There are 94 districts nationwide, and the southern district 
has the 54th longest median time from filing to trial; the central 
district, 33 months. These numbers are from early last fall. More 
recent numbers are not going to be encouraging or much different.
  We have heard from the judges in both of the districts. Phil Gilbert 
of the southern district has written to Members of the Senate and said 
they are getting the job done--and I know he is working hard with Judge 
Riley--but they badly need additional judges. Those are his words.
  Judge Michael Mihm of the central district said that they, too, are 
working to keep up with the caseload, but definitely feel the pinch. 
They have had to delay one major civil trial. They are only getting the 
job done by bringing in other judges from other districts, and, of 
course, causing problems in those districts in the meantime.
  Let me tell you about these two individuals, because I think you will 
come to realize why they moved through the Judiciary Committee without 
any controversy and why their still sitting on the calendar is a 
travesty of justice.
  Judge McCuskey was born in Peoria, IL. He is currently a State court 
judge and for the last 9 years has been serving in that capacity. 
Before that, for 2

[[Page S1920]]

years he was a circuit court judge. Since 1990, he has been a justice 
for the third district appellate court.
  Before going to law school, he worked at a local high school as a 
history teacher and baseball coach. During law school, he helped pay 
his bills by working as a security guard. After graduating, he started 
his own law firm. Since becoming a judge, he has earned a reputation, 
deservedly, from Democrats, Republicans, as well as Independents, as an 
outstanding--firm, fair and thorough--jurist.
  He is also involved in community work. Mike McCuskey is known 
throughout the Peoria area for going to local grade schools and reading 
to children. He emcees the senior citizen activities during the annual 
county fair.
  Then there is Pat Murphy in the Southern District of Illinois. I 
never met Pat Murphy before he came to the interview process that Carol 
Moseley-Braun and I held. I have to tell you, he just swept us off our 
feet. He is such an impressive individual.
  Pat Murphy was born and raised in Marion, IL, from a very humble 
family. He served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam. At the age of 17, he 
enlisted. On almost exactly his 18th birthday, he arrived in Vietnam 
where he served a tour of duty as an enlisted man in K Company, 3rd 
Battalion, 1st Marine Corps weapons platoon.
  After he got out of the Marine Corps, Pat Murphy decided to go on to 
get his college degree and law degree with the help of the GI bill.
  His parents died, and some of his brothers and sisters were still 
very young. Pat took on the responsibility of raising his four younger 
brothers and sisters. As he said to us, ``We ended up raising one 
another.''
  I met Pat's brother Kevin. He is the unit manager and a guard at the 
Marion Federal Penitentiary.
  Pat's story shows extensive legal experience. Since beginning the 
practice of law, Pat Murphy has tried almost 100 cases. I will tell 
you, it is hard to find a trial attorney who can say that. He has tried 
almost 100 cases before a jury; 200 before a judge. He has represented 
banks, municipalities, school boards, insurers and individuals. He has 
tried several criminal cases, representing plaintiffs and defendants. 
In the first year he was eligible, he was elected to the prestigious 
American College of Trial Attorneys. He has built more than a solid 
reputation in southern Illinois. He has been building a national 
reputation.
  Isn't this the kind of person we want to serve on the Federal bench? 
I think it is, and so does the Judiciary Committee in unanimously 
approving his nomination.
  One thing I have to say, though, that shouldn't be left out of Pat 
Murphy's biography is that he is known throughout Marion and southern 
Illinois for his unstinting generosity to veterans. He himself served, 
as I said, in the Marine Corps during Vietnam, and ever since, he has 
given local veterans pro bono--that is free--representation whenever 
they walk through the door.
  I have heard it said that in southern Illinois, when there is a 
funeral and burial of a veteran, many times they will see this lawyer 
come driving up, jump out of the car and stand in reverence at the 
grave site for his fellow veteran.
  Pat Murphy has endeared himself to so many of the people in southern 
Illinois and would be an excellent choice for Federal judge.
  So here we sit 127 days after these two men have their names brought 
before the Senate for confirmation. There is no objection in the 
Judiciary Committee, no objection to their qualifications and talents, 
and yet they wait. With personal hardship, they are waiting patiently 
for the opportunity to serve the United States of America as Federal 
district court judges.
  They have accepted that responsibility pending our confirmation. 
Shouldn't the Senate accept its responsibility? Shouldn't we vote out 
today, or at the latest the first day we can next week, these two men 
so that they can serve their country as Federal district court judges, 
so that they can, in some way, address the backlog of cases in the 
southern and central districts and give people who have been waiting 
patiently for their day in court an opportunity for a trial?
  I hope we respond to this. I say to my colleagues in the U.S. Senate, 
I am going to continue to raise this issue. I think it is unfair what 
we are doing to these two individuals. I hope the Senate can move very, 
very quickly to rectify this injustice.
  I yield back the remainder of my time.
  Mr. ASHCROFT addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, I rise to address a problem of 
significant magnitude. I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 10 
minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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