[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 159 (Wednesday, November 5, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13994-S13997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE SESSION
______
NOMINATION OF ROGER W. TITUS, OF MARYLAND, TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT
JUDGE
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now
go into executive session for the consideration of Executive Calendar
item No. 402, which the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read the nomination of Roger W. Titus, to be
United States District Judge for the District of Maryland.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There are 2 minutes evenly divided on the
nomination.
Who yields time?
The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I compliment the Republican leadership for
finally agreeing to move to the nomination of Roger Titus, who has been
cleared on this side for some time.
The nominee has won universal acclaim as a member of the Maryland
bar. In fact, it was suggested that he was going to be nominated to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. It would have been a
consensus where both Republicans and Democrats would have agreed. I
wish the administration had done that. Instead, they have moved him to
fill this seat. It is not a confrontational one for the circuit. In any
event, he should be supported. He will make the 168th judicial nominee
of President Bush's to be confirmed, which sets an all-time record for
this time in a President's term in office, surpassing even that of
President Reagan, when we had a Republican majority.
Mr. Titus has been an active litigator in Maryland for over 37 years,
and has litigated hundreds of cases, both civil and criminal. He has
been a partner at the Venable law firm and is a former president of the
Maryland Bar Association. He has also served as an adjunct professor at
the Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Titus earned a unanimous
``well-qualified'' rating from the ABA, and an AV rating from
Martindale-Hubbell.
In 2001, Mr. Titus was honored with The Baltimore Daily Record's
first Leadership in the Law Award, which recognizes members of the
legal community for their devotion to the betterment of the profession
and their communities. In 1999, Mr. Titus received the Century of
Service Award from the Montgomery County Bar Association for his
outstanding contributions to the legal profession and community during
the 20th century.
According to an article in The Baltimore Sun, Mr. Titus was
apparently in the running to be nominated for a seat on the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In light of his stellar
qualifications, deep roots in his legal community and ability to garner
the bipartisan support of his elected officials he would have been a
consensus choice for this important appellate seat. It is unfortunate
that the President felt the need to nominate someone without any local
ties to that Maryland vacancy.
There are reportedly 30,000 practicing attorneys in the State of
Maryland. Instead of nominating a well-qualified Marylander like Mr.
Titus to Judge Murnahan's vacant seat on the Fourth Circuit, the
President selected a younger, more controversial nominee with very
little litigation experience. Not surprisingly, that nominee, Claude
Allen, received a partial ``not qualified'' rating by the American Bar
Association and his selection for this prestigious lifetime appointment
has garnered a significant amount of opposition from concerned citizens
groups.
It is regrettable that this President has again chosen the course of
confrontation and conflict for his appellate court nominations. Mr.
Titus, with his many years of litigation experience and his well-
deserved reputation as a leader among lawyers in Maryland, is the type
of person who should have been chosen for Judge Murnahan's vacant seat
on the Fourth Circuit. His nomination stands in sharp contrast to the
inexperienced and divisive candidates chosen by the White House for too
many appellate judgeships in what appear to be an effort to pack the
court with ideological nominees and tilt these courts.
There is no doubt that Mr. Titus is a Republican, yet he has the
support of both of his home-State Senators and has earned the unanimous
support of the Members of the Judiciary Committee. I am happy to
support his nomination today and I congratulate Mr. Titus and his
family on his confirmation. I commend Senators Sarbanes and Mikulski
for their efforts to identify outstanding Maryland lawyers to maintain
the high standards of the Federal bench in Maryland.
In less than 3 years' time, President George W. Bush exceeded the
number of judicial nominees confirmed for President Reagan in all 4
years of his first term in office. Senate Democrats have cooperated so
that this President already surpassed the record of the President
Republicans acknowledge to be the ``all time champ'' at appointing
Federal judges. Since July, 2001, despite the fact that the Senate
majority has shifted twice, with today's vote, a total of 168 judicial
nominations have been confirmed, including 29 circuit court
appointments. One hundred judges were confirmed in the 17 months of the
Democratic Senate majority and with Mr. Titus' nomination we will have
confirmed 68 during the comparative time of the Republican majority.
[[Page S13995]]
One would think that the White House and the Republicans in the
Senate would be heralding this landmark. One would think they would be
congratulating themselves for putting more lifetime appointed judges on
the Federal bench than President Reagan did in his entire first term
and doing it in three-quarters the time. But Republicans have a
different partisan message and this truth is not consistent with their
efforts to mislead the American people into thinking that Democrats
have obstructed judicial nominations. That is why the President chose
to criticize the Senate from the Rose Garden again last week rather
than work with us and recognize what we can accomplish together.
Not only has this President been accorded more Senate confirmations
than President Reagan achieved during his entire first term, but he has
also achieved more confirmations this year than in any of the 6 years
that Republicans controlled the Senate when President Clinton was in
office. Not once was President Clinton allowed 68 confirmations in a
year when Republicans controlled the pace of confirmations. Despite the
high numbers of vacancies and availability of highly qualified
nominees, Republicans never cooperated with President Clinton to the
extent Senate Democrats have. President Bush has appointed more
lifetime circuit and district court judges in 10 months this year than
President Clinton was allowed in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, or 2000.
Last year alone, the Democratic majority in the Senate proceeded to
confirm 72 of President Bush's judicial nominees and was savagely
attacked nonetheless. Likewise in 1992, the last previous full year in
which a Democratic Senate majority considered the nominees of a
Republican President, 66 circuit and district court judges were
confirmed.
Historically, in the last year of an administration, consideration of
nominations slows, the ``Thurmond rule'' is invoked and vacancies are
left to the winner of the upcoming Presidential election. In 1992,
Democrats proceeded to confirm 66 of former President Bush's judicial
nominees even though it was a Presidential election year. By contrast,
in 1996, when Republicans controlled the pace for consideration of
President Clinton's judicial nominees only 17 judges were confirmed and
not a single one of them was to a circuit court.
In fact, President Bush has now already appointed more judges in his
third year in office than in the third year of the last five
Presidential terms, including the most recent term when Republicans
controlled the Senate and President Clinton was leading the country to
historic economic achievements. That year, in 1999, Republicans allowed
only 34 judicial nominees of President Clinton's to be confirmed all
year, including only 7 circuit court nominees. Those are close to the
average totals for the 6 years 1995-2000 when a Republican Senate
majority was determining how quickly to consider the judicial nominees
of a Democratic President. By contrast, with today's confirmation, the
Senate this year will have confirmed 68 judicial nominees, including 12
circuit court nominees, almost double the totals for 1999.
We have worked hard to balance the need to fill judicial vacancies
with the imperative that Federal judges need to be fair. In so doing,
we have reduced the number of judicial vacancies today to 40. More than
95 percent of the federal judgeships are filled. After inheriting 110
vacancies when the Senate Judiciary Committee reorganized under
Democratic control in 2001, I helped move through and confirm 100 of
the President's judicial nominees in just 17 months. With today's 68th
confirmation this year, we have reached the lowest number of vacancies
in 13 years. There are more Federal judges on the bench today than at
any time in American history. These facts stand in stark contrast to
the false partisan rhetoric that demonize the Senate for having blocked
all of this President's judicial nominations. The reality is that the
Senate is proceeding at a record pace and achieving record numbers.
I congratulate Mr. Titus and his family on his confirmation today.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am especially pleased today to speak in
support of our nominee to the United States District Court for the
District of Maryland, Roger Titus.
When the White House nominated Mr. Titus last June, Judge Peter
Messitte of the district of Maryland, who happens to be an old high
school classmate of Mr. Titus, called him a ``first-class appointment
and just a great guy. He is really one of the finest lawyers around.''
I agree wholeheartedly.
Not only is Mr. Titus a ``great guy'' and ``one of the finest lawyers
around,'' he is extremely well qualified--and well-deserving of the
ABA's unanimous Well Qualified rating. His credentials are impeccable.
Mr. Titus earned a B.A. from Johns Hopkins and a J.D. from Georgetown
University Law Center. Following his graduation from law school in
1966, Mr. Titus entered public service. He was first appointed as an
assistant city attorney for Rockville, Maryland. He served in that
capacity until 1970, at which time he was appointed city attorney.
While serving as a committed public servant, Mr. Titus established a
private and prestigious law practice specializing in complex civil and
appellate litigation. And in between serving in public office and
operating a successful law practice, he found the time to teach at his
alma mater, Georgetown University Law Center.
In 1988, Mr. Titus and his law partner merged their practice into
Venable, Baetjer and Howard, LLP, where he is currently a partner. His
clients include the Board of Education of Montgomery County, the
Montgomery County government, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Igen
International, Inc., and Circuit City Stores, Inc.
Fellow members of the Maryland bar have recognized Mr. Titus's
outstanding legal skills. He has received numerous accolades, among
them fellowships in notable organizations such as the American Bar
Foundation, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Academy
of Appellate Lawyers, and the Maryland Bar Foundation. In 1989, he was
appointed to the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure
of the Court of Appeals of Maryland. In 1999, he was one of seventeen
living attorneys to be awarded the Century of Service Award by the Bar
Association of Montgomery County. And in 2001, he was awarded the
Leadership in Law Award of The Daily Record.
Mr. Titus brings sterling credentials, legal acumen, and nearly 40
years of experience to the Federal bench. He will undoubtedly be an
excellent addition to the bench and I urge my colleagues to join me in
supporting his confirmation.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to express my enthusiastic
support for Roger Titus, a dedicated and well-qualified Maryland
lawyer, to be a Federal district court judge for the District of
Maryland.
When I review nominees for our Federal courts, I consider three
criteria. They must have the utmost legal competence, the highest
integrity and have a staunch dedication to protecting core
constitutional values and guarantees. Mr. Titus meets all of these
standards. I believe he will represent Maryland well on the District
Court.
Mr. Titus is recognized as one of the best lawyers in Maryland. He
has been awarded Century of Service Award by the Bar Association of
Montgomery County and has been recognized for his leadership in the
legal community with the Leadership on Law Award from The Baltimore
Daily Record.
He is committed to serving the community and his profession. For over
16 years he served city attorney's office of Rockville, rising to
position of city attorney. He is also a member of Board of Trustees of
Suburban Hospital and pro bono counsel to Mobil Medical Care, Inc., a
nonprofit dedicated to bringing health care services to Maryland's
homeless population.
The position that Mr. Titus is nominated for is important to
protecting the rights of all Marylanders. Mr. Titus will join two other
distinguished nominees that the Senate confirmed earlier this year,
whom I strongly supported, Judges Bennett and Quarles.
These nominees represent the types of lawyers that we should be
putting on our Federal courts. They have strong bipartisan support,
distinguished legal careers in the state from which they are selected
and they are in the mainstream of legal thought.
[[Page S13996]]
One of the things that impresses me about Mr. Titus is his strong
ties to the community. Mr. Titus was raised in Maryland, attended
Bethesda/Chevy Chase high school and went to college at Johns Hopkins
University. He was the first in his family to go to law school. In
fact, he was an electrical engineering major and had not really had any
exposure to lawyers until he eloped with the daughter of a lawyer in
college. From there the rest is history. He is now one of many in a
family of lawyers.
As a young lawyer, he worked as assistant city attorney in Rockville
defending and representing the city. In 1972, he was appointed to be
the city attorney of Rockville were he continued to represent the city
in matters of complex municipal law. He also served as adjunct law
professor at Georgetown Law School and then went on to establish his
own successful law firm.
In 1988, his firm merged with one of the top law firms in the United
States, based right here in Washington DC--the firm of Venable, Baetjer
and Howard, LLP. Mr. Titus is a leader in the firm as the partner in
charge of the Montgomery County office and as a member of firm's
Management Board.
Roger Titus has had a distinguished legal career both working in the
public sector as the advocate for the city of Rockville before the
courts, and then in the private sector where he is known for his
expertise in complex civil litigation. It is because of his service to
the bar and his outstanding legal skills and intellect that Mr. Titus
has received a ``well qualified'' rating from the American Bar
Association.
Mr. Titus' dedication to the law is also seen in his work as a
volunteer counsel for Mobile Medical Care, Inc. This is an organization
that provides free medical services to poor and homeless persons. Some
of the most vulnerable citizens in our society. As their legal counsel,
he helped them resolve legal hurdles which enabled them to set up a
headquarters in Bethesda, MD. His commitment to the law is also
reflected in his service to the bar. As a member of the Standing
Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Court of Appeals of
Maryland, he worked to secure guidelines for legal representation of
minors in proceedings terminating parental rights.
I mentioned before the awards that Mr. Titus has received. These
accolades from his colleagues are proof of the respect he has in the
legal community and his intellect and ability. They demonstrate his
service to bar and community and how much he has accomplished in
career.
I do not know how Mr. Titus will vote on every issue that comes
before him. I know he has been nominated by a Republican President, and
it is likely that my beliefs and Mr. Titus' beliefs on certain issues
will differ. But I am confident that he will use his expertise and
legal experience to guide him as he makes important decisions affecting
Marylanders. I am also confident that his legal background and respect
for the law will be his foundation as he serves on the Federal District
Court in Maryland.
I am impressed with Mr. Titus' commitment, expressed during his
hearing before the Judiciary Committee, to adhering to the law. His
dedication to following precedent and a statute's requirements, even
where it is inconsistent with his own personal beliefs or is unpopular.
It is the ability to put the law first, to know that personal views are
irrelevant, that will serve him and Maryland well when he is a Federal
district judge
I am proud to support this distinguished Maryland lawyer for a seat
on the prestigious Federal court in Maryland. It is well qualified,
distinguished members of the bar, who are respected in their legal
community and who are in the mainstream of legal thought, like Mr.
Titus, that this administration should be nominating. These are
nominees who have excelled in their profession and who are looked up to
by Republicans and Democrats alike. Like Judges Quarles and Bennett,
Mr. Titus is a nominee who both of Maryland's Senators can support. We
support him because we are foremost concerned with protecting the
integrity and excellence of the Maryland Federal judiciary.
That concern has lead both Senator Sarbanes and myself to work with
and support the choices of the administration for these District Court
nominees. That concern is why I wish the administration had looked to
the Maryland legal community when it nominated someone to fill the
vacancy left by the death of Judge Francis Murnaghan, an esteemed
jurist who served on the Fourth Circuit for over 20 years.
Today, as I rise to enthusiastically support the nomination of Mr.
Titus and as I have risen to support the other nominees for the
district court, I believe these individuals are a model of the types of
lawyers that should be nominated to fill Judge Murnaghan's seat on the
Fourth Circuit. These nominees show that the President could easily
nominate someone from Maryland who is fit for the bench and will serve
with pride and excellence. They also show that the administration would
not have to look far for a qualified nominee from Maryland.
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to
express my support for the nomination of Roger W. Titus to the U.S.
District Court for the District of Maryland.
I have always believed that one of the most important roles I have as
a United States Senator is the responsibility to provide ``advice and
consent'' with respect to nominees to the Federal judiciary, and it is
with sober deliberation that I consider all nominations made by our
Presidents. When considering nominees, I apply a high standard to
determine whether to support them for the Federal bench. A candidate
should have had a career that has provided the breadth and depth of
experience necessary to be a Federal judge, have contributed to the
legal profession of our State, and have been an active participant in
Maryland's civic community. All of these factors taken together must
have elevated the nominee to a position of respect and esteem in our
State that demonstrates that the nominee is ready and worthy for the
challenges of a Federal judgeship.
Applying these standards, I am pleased to speak today on behalf of
Roger Titus and urge the Senate to confirm his nomination. Roger Titus
clearly meets these requirements, and will make a valuable contribution
on the District Court.
Roger Titus received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins
University and his juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law
Center. His legal career has spanned more than 30 years, during which
time he has held a variety of positions in the public sector; private
sector, with more than 30 years in private practice at firms large and
small; and the academic field, as an adjunct professor at Georgetown
University Law Center.
Roger Titus' career in private practice has been broad in scope--a
fact that will serve him well on the bench. Concentrating in
litigation, he has significant experience in State and local government
law, general litigation, constitutional litigation, complex commercial
litigation, as well as appellate work. Roger Titus has also been a
leader in Maryland's legal community, most notably serving as President
of the Maryland State Bar Association, but also devoting his time to
numerous other legal organizations on a State, local and national level
including the Bar Association of Montgomery County, American Bar
Association, Maryland Municipal Attorneys Association, and the National
Conference of Bar Presidents, among others. During this busy career, he
has been active in the Maryland community, devoting substantial time to
the Maryland Bar Foundation and as Chairman and member of the Board of
Trustees for Suburban Hospital.
Given this record, it is no surprise that the American Bar
Association gave Roger Titus a unanimous ``well qualified'' rating in
its evaluation of his nomination. He has also received a number of
prestigious awards for his career and record of service, including the
Daily Record's first Leadership in the Law Award, which recognizes
members of the legal community for their devotion to the betterment of
the profession and their communities, and the Century of Service Award
from the Montgomery County Bar Association, for his outstanding
contributions to the legal profession and community during the
twentieth century.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today on behalf of
Roger Titus' nomination to the Federal
[[Page S13997]]
bench, and I would like to congratulate him and his family on his
confirmation. It is truly indicative of the exemplary career he has had
in the legal profession, his commitment to our State, and the esteem
with which Marylanders view his accomplishments.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Who yields time for the majority?
Mr. McCAIN. I yield back the time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is all time yielded back? Without objection,
all time is yielded back.
Mr. LEAHY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination
of Roger W. Titus, of Maryland, to be United States District Judge for
the District of Maryland?
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr.
Edwards), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), and the Senator
from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) 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 97, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 438 Leg.]
YEAS--97
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 (FL)
Graham (SC)
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hollings
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Miller
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
Warner
Wyden
NOT VOTING--3
Edwards
Kerry
Lieberman
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the President will
be notified of the Senate's action
____________________