[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11620-S11621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION
    NOMINATION OF R. DAVID PROCTOR, OF ALABAMA, TO BE UNITED STATES 
          DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now 
go into executive session and consider Executive Calendar No. 352, 
which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of R. David Proctor, of 
Alabama, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District 
of Alabama.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There are 2 minutes of debate equally divided 
on this nomination.
  Who yields time?
  The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Madam President, I am delighted that David Proctor is 
moving forward, as I believe three other nominees are from New York. 
David Proctor was an outstanding student in his undergraduate studies 
at Carson Newman College. He served on the Law Review at the University 
of Tennessee. He was at the top of his class in law school. He clerked 
for Judge Emory Widener on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  He was a member of one of Alabama's largest and most prestigious law 
firms, Sirotte & Permutt. And then he formed his own firm: Lehr, 
Middlebrooks, Price & Proctor.
  He is a lawyer's lawyer, a practitioner who is in court on a regular 
basis, a man of great integrity and ability. I believe he is going to 
be a terrific Federal judge. He wants more than anything to give his 
life to serving the law. I think he will do that. It is a great honor 
for me to support his nomination.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I support the nominee who has been 
addressed by the Senator from Alabama.
  I yield back the remainder of my time and ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I am pleased today to speak in support of 
R. David Proctor, who has been nominated to the United States District 
Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
  Mr. Proctor graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee 
College of Law in 1986. Following his graduation, he clerked for the 
Honorable Emory Widener Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth 
Circuit.
  Mr. Proctor next entered private practice with the law firm of Sirote 
& Permutt, first as an associate and then as a partner. He left Sirote 
in 1993 to become a partner at Lehr, Middlebrooks, Price & Proctor, 
where he currently practices law. He specializes in labor, employment 
and civil rights law, representing employers and public sector entities 
ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. Furthermore, he 
has authored numerous articles on employment law. In recent years, Mr. 
Proctor has augmented his litigation practice with mediation.
  I would like to share with my colleagues a letter sent to the 
committee in support of Mr. Proctor's nomination by Alex Newton, a 
partner in the Birmingham law firm of Hare, Wynn, Newell and Newton. 
Mr. Newton is a self-described ``lifelong active Democrat.'' He has 
known Mr. Proctor since the beginning of his legal career and highly 
recommends him to the bench. He writes that Mr. Proctor has ``broad 
experience . . . as an attorney. He is energetic, personable and 
blessed with absolute integrity. As a judge, I have no doubt he would 
rule without being influenced by race, creed, wealth or poverty of the 
litigant before him. He would serve . . . with distinction.''
  As this letter attests, Mr. Proctor is an experienced attorney who 
will be an

[[Page S11621]]

asset to the Federal bench. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting his nomination.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is all time yielded back?
  Mr. LEAHY. I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of R. David Proctor, of Alabama, to be United 
States District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama? The yeas 
and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Utah (Mr. Hatch) is 
necessarily absent.
  I further announce that the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Smith) is absent 
because of a death in the family.
  I further announce that if present and voting, the Senator from Utah 
(Mr. Hatch) would vote ``yea''.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. 
Edwards), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the Senator from South 
Carolina (Mr. Hollings), 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 92, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 352 Ex.]

                                YEAS--92

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     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
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hutchison
     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
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--8

     Edwards
     Graham (FL)
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Kerry
     Lieberman
     Miller
     Smith
  The nomination was confirmed.

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