[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 150 (Tuesday, November 19, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S11557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CHIEF JUDGE LAWRENCE BASKIR

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the United States Court of Federal Claims 
is the only federal court where the President may appoint and dismiss 
the chief judge. Although this power has been available since the Court 
of Federal Claims was established in 1982, President George W. Bush is 
the first President to use this power to remove a sitting judge. That 
is a regrettable decision because of the integrity and outstanding 
judicial record of the former incumbent, Chief Judge Lawrence Baskir. 
His absence is already being felt in the slower pace of important 
procedural reforms that Chief Judge Baskir had launched to improve the 
fairness and efficiency of the Court of Federal Claims.
  Former Chief Judge Baskir was appointed in July, 2000 by President 
Clinton after the retirement of the previous incumbent chief judge, who 
had been appointed by President Regan. In his short, two-year tenure, 
Chief Judge Baskir had accomplished much in boosting public awareness 
of and respect for the work of this important, but little-known federal 
court.
  The Court hears cases brought against the federal government by 
American citizens. It is especially important that litigants can rely 
on its objectivity and integrity. Some may say that because its 
original complement of judges was appointed by President Reagan and 
George Bush, Sr., its work had more of a political cast to it. Chief 
Judge Baskir worked hard to correct that impression, and he was 
scrupulous in every way in seeking to avoid even the appearance of any 
political involvement.
  Among the ways he sought to reinforce the integrity of the Court was 
to ensure that incoming cases, some of which were highly charged with 
politics, were assigned automatically, ``off the wheel,'' and not 
directed to any particular, pre-determined judge. Just prior to his 
removal from the bench, the Court's new procedural rules took effect, 
rules for which he had pressed for two years. The rules, which are 
critical for the administration of justice and are the procedures for 
litigating cases in the Court, had not been revised in 10 years. 
Because Court rules define the parties' rights and obligations, they 
can give unfair advantage to one side or another. Their content is 
always contentious, and previous efforts to revise them had collapsed 
in deadlock. Chief Judge Baskir guided the revisions through with great 
success.
  He reorganized the Clerk's Office, putting an end to delays in 
document handling, and instituted a ``same day'' rule for recording 
court filings. He brought the Court's electronic data systems into the 
21st Century and created both internal and external web pages. He 
converted the main courtroom into a state of the art electronic 
courtroom, where attorneys can connect their own computers to the Court 
system, and have access to their own records and data and exhibits.
  He also helped modernize the Court's alternative dispute settlement 
resolution, or ADR procedures. Resolving legal disputes through ADR can 
be a useful alternative to long litigation in certain circumstances. 
ADR is an important procedural option at the Court of Federal Claims, 
where citizens, often with very limited resources, are suing the 
federal government with its unlimited resources. ADR can serve in such 
instances to help level the playing field.
  For example, he instituted a pilot ADR process in which incoming 
cases are assigned to an ADR judge at the same time they are assigned 
to a trial judge. This program is unique in the federal system, and has 
been chosen by the Federal Judicial Center as a model to examine and 
analyze for possible application in other federal courts.
  Chief Judge Baskir made sure that ordinary citizens got fair 
treatment when they sued the federal government. Knowing of the large 
number of pro se plaintiffs, or people representing themselves, going 
up against the Justice Department, including parents with heartbreaking 
cases involving young children, he revised the system of handling these 
cases, and in the process referred more than 700 pro se plaintiffs to 
attorneys participating in the Court's vaccine program. Believing in 
the duty of members of the legal profession to contribute a portion of 
their time without charge for the good of the public, he also helped 
launch a pro bono program within the Court for both judges and legal 
clerks, and among the attorneys who are members of the Court's bar.
  Many of these accomplishments would be impressive for a chief 
judicial administrative official whose tenure lasted a full term. This 
record is all the more impressive for having been achieved by a Chief 
Judge whose term lasted a mere 22 months. He achieved much because he 
brought an extensive legal and administrative background to the 
position, including service as Acting General Counsel of the U.S. Army, 
as staff director and chief counsel of a major U.S. Senate 
subcommittee, and as director and chief administrative officer of a 
major Presidential program under President Ford.
  I commend Chief Judge Baskir on all that he accomplished as Chief 
Judge of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. I thank him for his service 
to our Nation.

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