[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 15 (Friday, February 15, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S894-S895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, last night, the Senate voted to confirm 
three additional nominees to the Federal district courts: James 
Gritzner from Iowa, Richard Leon from Maryland, who will serve as a 
judge on the District Court for the District of Columbia, and David 
Bunning from Kentucky.
  With these votes, the Senate will have confirmed nine judges since 
beginning the second session three weeks ago. With these confirmations, 
the Senate will have confirmed 37 judges since the change in majority 
last June. That number exceeds the number of judges confirmed in all 12 
months of 1997 or 1999 and, of course, more than during the entire 1996 
session.
  I would, again, urge the White House to work with home-state 
Senators, to work with Democratic and as well as Republican Senators, 
and to send nominees like James Gritzner, who received bipartisan 
support from his home-state Senators.
  With the confirmation of Judge Gritzner, the Senate has confirmed two 
Federal judges from Iowa this week, the other being Judge Michael 
Melloy for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. 
The Judiciary Committee moved quickly on these nominations. Both Judge 
Gritzner and Judge Melloy participated in the first nominations hearing 
of this session, which was the first confirmation hearing held in 
January in more than half a decade. They were reported favorably by the 
Committee at the earliest possible Executive Business Meeting this 
year, on February 7, and they are now confirmed, just one week later.
  Indeed, Judge Melloy's confirmation filled a judicial emergency 
vacancy. That seat on the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 
which includes eight states, Iowa, Arkansas, Minnesota, Missouri, 
Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, has been vacant since May 1, 
1999.
  I recall that it was not so long ago, in 2000, when the Senate was 
under Republican control, that another nominee to this very seat on the 
Eighth Circuit, Bonnie Campbell, did not receive the courtesy of a vote 
by the Committee following the hearing on her nomination. She did not 
receive a vote due to the previous policy of allowing anonymous holds 
to be placed on nominees, even though in her case, both of her home-
state Senators, one a Democrat and the other a Republican, supported 
her nomination. Bonnie Campbell, the former Attorney General of Iowa, 
did not receive the courtesy of a vote, up or down, during the 382 days 
between her nomination by President Clinton and the time that the Bush 
Administration withdrew her name.
  In contrast, we moved expeditiously to consider and confirm Judge 
Melloy's nomination to the Eighth Circuit. Judge Melloy's confirmation 
eliminated the judicial emergency vacancy in that Circuit caused, in 
part, by the Committee's failure to act on Bonnie Campbell's nomination 
when Republicans controlled the Senate and the confirmation process.
  Judge Melloy was the seventh Court of Appeals nomination confirmed by 
the Senate in the last seven months. That is seven more Court of 
Appeals judges than a Republican majority confirmed in the 1996 
session, and as many as were confirmed in all of 1997 and in all of 
1999.
  I think that the last District Court Judge confirmed in Iowa was 
Judge Robert Pratt in 1997. Nominated initially in early August 1996, 
Judge Pratt was not confirmed until late May the following year, more 
than nine months after his initial nomination. I am glad that the 
Committee and the Senate were able to act more quickly than that with 
respect to Judge Gritzner.
  In connection with both Iowa nominees confirmed this year, I thank 
the Senators from Iowa for working with the Committee. I especially 
appreciate the kind words of the senior Senator, Senator Grassley, both 
at the Committee consideration and in connection with these 
confirmation.
  Last night, the Senate also confirmed Richard Leon to the United 
States District Court for the District of Columbia. This is the third 
confirmation to this District Court considered by the Senate since I 
became Chairman last summer. Indeed, nominees to the District of 
Columbia District Court were among those included in our unprecedented 
hearings during the August recess last year. I thank Representative 
Eleanor Holmes Norton for working closely with the Committee to fill 
all three vacancies that had existed in this Federal court.
  Richard Leon's nomination was fairly and expeditiously considered by 
the Judiciary Committee and the Senate. His nomination was received 
last September, the ABA peer reviews were completed favorably in 
November, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on his nomination 
during the first week the Senate was in session in January, his 
nomination was promptly considered by the Committee and reported 
favorably to the Senate last week, and last night the Senate confirmed 
his nomination to fill the last current vacancy on the United States 
District Court for the District of Columbia. Richard Leon received a 
unanimous well-qualified rating from the ABA peer reviews and received 
high recommendations from members of the legal community in the 
District of Columbia.
  Of course, during the years preceding the change in majority, two 
nominees to the District Court for the District of Columbia, James 
Klein and Rhonda Fields, never received a hearing before the Committee 
or votes on their nominations. In fact, James Klein's nomination was 
pending for almost four years without a hearing during both the 105th 
and 106th Congresses. Despite Representative Norton's strong and 
consistent efforts during those years, we were unable to obtain any 
action in connection with the vacancies that we have now successfully 
filled. Judge Leon will join Judge Bates and Judge Walton.
  Last night the Senate also confirmed the nomination of David Bunning 
to a vacancy in the Eastern District of Kentucky. Since the elections 
in November 2000, three vacancies have arisen on the Eastern District 
bench. With this confirmation, the Senate will have acted to fill all 
three.
  I scheduled a hearing for Karen Caldwell just six days after her file 
was complete. Her nomination was reported by the Committee 16 days 
later, and only 25 days after her file was complete, Judge Karen 
Caldwell was confirmed by the Senate. Danny Reeves, another nominee for 
that same district, was able to have a hearing within

[[Page S895]]

40 days of his file being completed, was voted out of Committee only a 
few weeks after that, and he was confirmed 69 days from the time all 
his paperwork was complete. Indeed, we proceeded to confirm the first 
two nominees to the bench of the Eastern District of Kentucky so 
quickly that they had to delay being sworn in and assuming their 
judicial duties in order to wind down their legal practices.
  This stands in sharp contrast to the length of time it took to get 
nominees hearings and confirmations in the recent past. During the last 
six years of the Clinton Administration, it took an average of about 
150 days to move a district court nominee to confirmation. I am proud 
that we have been able to do better since last July.
  The hearing on the Bunning nomination included testimony by his home-
state Senators as well as testimony by representatives from the 
American Bar Association's Standing Committee. While a majority of the 
ABA Committee found the nominee not qualified and a minority found him 
to be qualified for the federal bench, three United States District 
Court Judges and a former United States Attorney testified in support 
of his confirmation. Yesterday, the Senate acted to confirm the 
President's nomination, as we have with a number of other nominees who 
received mixed peer review ratings.
  For 50 years, beginning with the Eisenhower Administration and 
including the Clinton Administration, the ABA had provided a valuable 
public service to Presidents as they determined whom to nominate to the 
federal bench. In addition, the Senate has had the benefit of the ABA 
peer reviews. No Senator is bound by the recommendations of the ABA.
  As I have said before, it is unfortunate that President Bush decided 
to shift the ABA's role in the pre-nomination process, but I am 
grateful that the ABA has agreed to continue to provide their 
evaluations to the Senate Judiciary Committee. We have always valued 
their contribution to the process and the willingness of the members of 
the Standing Committee to volunteer their time, efforts and judgment to 
this important task.
  I congratulate each of the successful nominees and their families on 
their Senate confirmations.
  I intend to notice another confirmation hearing for judicial 
nominations for February 26. Even though this is a short month with a 
week's recess, the Committee will hold a second hearing involving 
judicial nominees in February. This will be the first time in four 
years that the Committee will have held two February hearings for 
judicial nominees.

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