[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 106 (Thursday, July 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9558-S9559]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

NOMINATION OF ALLYSON K. DUNCAN, OF NORTH CAROLINA, TO BE UNITED STATES 
                  CIRCUIT JUDGE FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, 
which the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Allyson K. 
Duncan, of North Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge for the 
Fourth Circuit.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 10 
minutes equally divided between Senator Dole and Senator Edwards.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on this 
nominee.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, I am pleased tonight we are confirming two 
of President Bush's judicial nominees from my home State of North 
Carolina, Allyson Duncan to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and 
Louise Flanagan to the Eastern District of North Carolina. Our free 
society is based on reasoned, dispassionate judgment of the men and 
women of our judicial branch of our Government who share a sense of 
honor and duty to our country and to our Constitution. Every indication 
is that these two talented and experienced individuals will provide 
just that.

  Judges interpret and apply the laws that govern our Nation, including 
our fundamental rights and liberties protected in the Constitution. 
However, on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, there is a North 
Carolina vacancy that is the longest on the entire Federal bench. It 
dates back nearly a decade to July 31, 1994. In fact, North Carolina 
has had no representation on the Fourth Circuit Court in nearly 4 
years, though we are the largest State in the circuit. Two seats have 
stood empty on North Carolina's Eastern District Court for 2\1/2\ and 
5\1/2\ years, respectively.
  I am pleased the Senate has stepped up and fulfilled its duties for 
these to nominees, taking steps to fill these vacancies to address the 
disparity for North Carolina.
  This vote is historic in more ways than one. Allyson Duncan is the 
first woman from North Carolina to serve on the Fourth Circuit Court of 
Appeals. She is also the first African-American woman to serve on the 
Fourth Circuit Court. Ms. Duncan's resume is most impressive, marked 
with numerous positions of significant responsibility in both the 
public and private sectors. Currently, an attorney with the Raleigh law 
firm of Kilpatrick Stockton, Ms. Duncan is the president of the North 
Carolina Bar Association, and an active member of the North Carolina 
Association of Women Attorneys. Prior to that, she was a judge on the 
North Carolina Court of Appeals, and a professor of law at North 
Carolina Central University.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina is recognized.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, I rise to enthusiastically express my 
support for the nomination of Allyson Duncan for the Fourth Circuit 
Court of Appeals and Louise Wood Flanagan for the U.S. District Court 
for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
  This is a historic day for my home state of North Carolina. Once 
confirmed, Allyson Duncan will be the first North Carolinian to join 
the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in 23 years. North Carolina is the 
only State in the Union with no judges on a Federal appellate court. 
And we have the longest-standing vacancy in the Federal appeals court 
system.
  I was very proud to support Judge Duncan's nomination and it was my 
pleasure to introduce her during her confirmation hearing. She will 
restore the voice of North Carolina to this very important Federal 
Court and breaks a logjam that has damaged our state for too many 
years.
  This historic development shows what can be done when the President 
truly respects the advice and consent role of the Senate. In this case, 
President Bush did more than just pay lip service to this important 
responsibility. He reached out to Senator Dole and me before he made 
his decision--he consulted with us--he sought our advice. In making his 
decision, the President selected a nominee who represents the 
mainstream of our state.
  I commend the President for consulting with us and for making an 
excellent nomination. If he takes this approach to future judicial 
nominations we have a real opportunity to find common ground in the 
search for excellence on the Federal bench. When we work together, we 
find outstanding nominees like Allyson Duncan who represents the best 
of North Carolina.
  As impressive as her resume is, even more telling is her steller 
repudiation throughout the North Carolina legal community. I have heard 
from folks all over the State who can't say enough about Allyson 
Duncan. What people keep telling me is that this is a woman of 
extraordinary intellect and skill, who loves the law, strives for 
justice and never allows politics to interfere with her commitment to 
fairness and equality.
  When the Senate confirms Allyson Duncan--which I hope will happen 
soon--her confirmation will mark a number of ``firsts.''
  She will be the first North Carolinian to join the 4th Circuit in 
over 20 years; she will be the first African American woman to serve on 
that distinguished court. And most important, I hope she will be the 
first in a series of bipartisan, consensus judicial nominations from 
our State.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to express my strong support 
for the confirmation of Allyson K. Duncan, who has been nominated to 
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
  Ms. Duncan is truly an impressive woman and has the enthusiastic 
support of both North Carolina senators, along with a unanimous ``Well 
Qualified'' ABA rating.
  She graduated first in her class at Hampton University, a 
historically black college. She then attended Duke University Law 
School and was appointed an Earl Warren Legal Scholar, a scholarship 
awarded to black law students demonstrating leadership and an interest 
in the public interest.
  Upon graduation, our nominee clerked for the Honorable Julia Cooper 
Mack on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, before beginning her

[[Page S9559]]

tenure at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1978. Ms. 
Duncan held several positions at the EEOC, starting as an appellate 
attorney, serving as the assistant to the Chairman, and ultimately 
becoming acting legal counsel.
  Ms. Duncan left the EEOC for a teaching post at North Carolina 
Central University School of Law, another historically black college, 
where she taught property, employment discrimination, labor law, and 
appellate advocacy.
  Our outstanding nominee is also a pioneer. After leaving her teaching 
post in 1990, she became the first black woman to be appointed to the 
North Carolina Court of Appeals as an associate judge. She served in 
that capacity for one year, after which she hit another milestone.
  Ms. Duncan was then appointed commissioner of the North Carolina 
Utilities Commission--another first for a black woman. As commissioner, 
she was responsible for telecommunications, natural gas and water 
regulations. She served as commissioner until she entered private 
practice with the law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton, where she is 
currently a partner. Her area of concentration is energy-related 
issues, but she also handles regulatory matters involving rate making, 
and mergers and acquisitions.
  I am proud to add that if confirmed, Ms. Duncan will hit a third 
milestone: that of being the first black woman to sit on the Fourth 
Circuit Court Appeals. A circuit, I would like to note, that has a 24 
percent black population--the highest black population for all of the 
circuit courts.
  Allyson Duncan has a fine background, which will serve her well as a 
circuit court judge. She will be a terrific addition to the Court, and 
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting her nomination.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today the Senate will confirm the first new 
judge to the Fourth Circuit from North Carolina in 23 years as well as 
a nominee to the District Court for the Eastern District of North 
Carolina. I want to thank Senator Edwards for his efforts to resolve 
the impasse that has stalled so many nominees from North Carolina. Part 
of his reward will be the service that Judge Allyson Duncan will soon 
be providing to the people of North Carolina as a member of the United 
States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. When Senator Edwards 
obtained a hearing for Judge Duncan last month, her nomination had 
already progressed further than the Republican majority had allowed the 
nominations of Judge James Beaty, Judge James Wynn, and Judge Rich 
Leonard to proceed when they were nominated to the Fourth Circuit by 
President Clinton from 1995 through 2001. This confirmation means that 
North Carolina once again is represented on the Fourth Circuit.
  In addition, Judge Duncan will be the first African-American woman to 
serve on the Fourth Circuit, a circuit that did not have an African-
American judge until President Clinton appointed Roger Gregory 2\1/2\ 
years ago.
  A good way to see how much faster we are proceeding on judicial 
nominations for a Republican President is to compare where we are in 
July of this year to July of any year during the last Democratic 
administration when the Republicans controlled the Senate. Over the 
last 6\1/2\ years of Republican control under President Clinton, the 
Republicans allowed only 19 judicial confirmations, on average, by July 
16, and included only 4 circuit court nominees, on average, by this 
time. We have now doubled the number of judicial confirmations and more 
than doubled the number of circuit court confirmations.
  On this day, in 1995, only 27 judicial nominations had been 
confirmed; in 1996, only 10; in 1997, only 6; in 1998 the confirmations 
totaled 33; in 1999, only 9; and in 2000 the confirmation total by this 
point of the year was 29. Today, we confirm the 37th and 38th judges so 
far this year. We have already confirmed more judges in only the 
seventh month of this year than the Republican majority was willing to 
confirm in all of 1999, in all of 1997, and more than twice as many as 
the Republican majority was willing to consider during the entire 1996 
session. Vacancies in the courts stand at less than half of what they 
were during the Clinton years and we have more Federal judges serving 
than ever before.
  Today, we confirm the 10th judge to the Courts of Appeals. This is 
more than were confirmed in all of 4 of the past 6 years when the 
Republicans were in the majority--in 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2000. And in 
the 2 other years, the Tenth Circuit nominee was not confirmed until 
much later in the year.
  As I have noted throughout the last 3 years, the Senate is able to 
move expeditiously when we have consensus nominees. I am delighted that 
these North Carolina nominees have the support of Senator Edwards and 
Senator Dole and that we have been able to move forward so 
expeditiously to confirm them. Unfortunately, far too many of this 
President's nominees have records that raise serious concerns about 
whether they will be fair judges to all parties on all issues.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has been yielded. The question is, 
Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination of Allyson K. 
Duncan, of North Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge for the 
Fourth Circuit?
  The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Texas (Mrs. Hutchison 
and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Breaux), 
the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Massachusetts 
(Mr. Kerry), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman), and the 
Senator from Georgia (Mr. Miller) are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 93, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 289 Ex.]

                                YEAS--93

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Breaux
     Graham (FL)
     Hutchison
     Kerry
     Lieberman
     Miller
     Warner
  The nomination was confirmed.

                          ____________________