[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 89 (Thursday, June 24, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7359-S7360]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NOMINATION OF PETER HALL

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, we have heated debates, and we have times 
when we are happy and times when we are not here in the Senate. Today 
is a happy day. I am pleased that later I will be able to cast my vote 
in favor of Peter Hall for confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the Second Circuit. I know this will be a nomination that will be 
strongly supported on both sides of the aisle.
  Mr. Hall is going to fill the Green Mountain State's seat on the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He currently serves as the 
U.S. Attorney. He was nominated by President Bush. He has strong 
support not only of Governor Douglas but the entire Vermont delegation. 
I commend both the Republican and Democratic leadership for working out 
an accommodation that makes it possible to vote on his nomination.
  By tradition, there is a Vermont seat on the Second Circuit. It is 
currently vacant. The reason it is vacant is because of the sudden and 
tragic death of the last judge to hold the seat, the late Fred Parker. 
Judge Parker was appointed to the U.S. District Court for Vermont in 
1990 by the first President Bush. That was done on the strong 
recommendation of Senator Jeffords and with my support. He was a well-
known Republican in Vermont, and he served as the deputy attorney 
general for the State of Vermont.
  After distinguished service on the District Court bench, he was 
appointed by President Clinton to the Second Circuit with the strong 
support of Senator Jeffords. President Clinton knew that Fred Parker 
was a well-known Republican, but he also knew of his qualifications and 
of the high esteem in which he was held in Vermont, and so he nominated 
Judge Parker to the Second Circuit, and he was confirmed by the Senate.
  I mention that because over the years Senator Jeffords and I--and 
before that Senator Stafford of Vermont and I--have tried to keep 
partisan politics out of the Judiciary. If you look at the quality of 
the people we recommended, you will see we have actually been quite 
successful in doing that. Fred Parker was such an example. He was a 
good man, a good lawyer, and a good judge. We were in Georgetown Law 
School together. I knew him from that time. He was in the Marine Corps. 
I knew him from then until his untimely death last year. I knew him to 
be a man of integrity and intelligence. He served the courts and the 
people of Vermont with dedication and fairness, and we miss him.
  Peter Hall has big shoes to fill, but both from what everyone knows 
about him and from what I know personally in having worked with him, he 
is completely up to the job. He did have a couple strikes against him. 
He had the nerve to be born in one of those Southern States, 
Connecticut. He went all the way even further south to North Carolina 
for college, and then he attended law school in New York. But we 
decided to forgive him for those missteps in his career because he came 
to his senses as soon as he graduated from law school, and then he 
moved to Vermont. He has been there long enough to be considered a 
Vermonter.
  He clerked for the well-respected Judge Albert Coffrin of the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Vermont.
  We are a small State. When I first started practicing law, it was in 
Judge Coffrin's law firm, before he became a member of the bench. He 
was a good friend. His widow still lives in Vermont. He was without a 
doubt one of the most respected and one of the best trial judges we 
have had.
  Peter Hall, showing the wisdom he has demonstrated, stayed in Vermont 
from that day forth. His career and the exemplary way he served the 
U.S. Government in the law are admirable.
  After he completed his clerkship with Judge Coffrin, he joined the 
U.S. attorney's office in Vermont. He was a Federal prosecutor the next 
18 years. He rose to the position of first assistant, later being named 
U.S. Attorney. During those years, he has gained invaluable trial 
experience so beneficial for any judge. He learned about Federal 
criminal law.

  I was a prosecutor, so of course I always have a soft spot for 
someone who served as a prosecutor.
  His resume is not limited to Government service. In 1986, he began a 
15-year career in the private practice of law, focusing on civil 
practice, with a particular emphasis on mediation, showing a talent for 
that. He also used his time during that period to serve the bar. He 
provided ethics training to Vermont State prosecutors. He held the 
office of president of the Vermont Bar Association, and in that office 
as former prosecutor, advocated for funding for public defenders for 
equal access to justice.
  In the best sense of those who make the best judges, he found time 
for pro bono work, getting involved in the Vermont family court system. 
He served as guardian ad litem for children caught up in disputes 
between their parents.
  In 2001, President Bush nominated Peter Hall to be the U.S. Attorney 
for Vermont. His record in that office is one all prosecutors should 
hope to have, a tough but a fair prosecutor. I supported Peter's 
nomination to the U.S. Attorney's office. I support him now.
  Lest there be any question, let us have no misunderstanding about 
Peter's party affiliation: He is a Republican through and through. From 
1986 to 1993 he was variously a member of the town of Chittenden, 
Rutland County, and State of Vermont Republican committees and a member 
of the National Republican Party. He has helped run statewide 
Republican campaigns, and was an elected Republican official for 5 
years, holding one of the most important offices a citizen in Vermont 
can hold, a member of the Select Board of the Town of Chittenden. 
Incidentally, Chittenden is named after the first Governor of Vermont, 
Thomas Chittenden. He was recommended to the President by Vermont's 
Republican Governor. Governor Douglas noted in his letter of support to 
this nomination, that Peter is ``a dedicated public servant, a strong 
leader and will be an asset to the Second Circuit.''
  I ask consent the Governor's letter be printed in the Record.

[[Page S7360]]

  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                             State of Vermont,

                                       Office of the Governor,

                                                   March 10, 2004.
     Hon. Orrin G. Hatch,
     Chairman,
     Hon. Patrick J. Leahy,
     Ranking Democratic Member, U.S. Senate, Committee on the 
         Judiciary, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators: I am writing to express my strongest support 
     for U.S. Attorney Peter Hall for appointment to the U.S. 
     Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit.
       Peter's record of service of the people of Vermont is 
     exemplary. As U.S. Attorney, he has been a strong and 
     effective leader in Vermont's anti-terrorism effort. Peter 
     has been a principal organizer in promoting ``Operation Safe 
     Commerce,'' an international initiative aimed to track and 
     monitor cargo shipments that could be susceptible to 
     terrorist attacks.
       In addition, Peter has been an active leader in promoting 
     the President's ``Project Safe Neighborhoods'' initiative 
     designed to make our streets safer by taking guns out of the 
     hands of convicted felons.
       I unequivocally support Peter for the judgeship. He is a 
     dedicated public servant, a strong leader, and will be an 
     asset to the 2nd Circuit.
           Sincerely,
                                                 James H. Douglas,
                                                         Governor.

  Mr. LEAHY. Equally clear, however, is Peter's commitment to the law, 
to fair judging, to leaving any partisan label or interest at the 
courthouse door. Unless somebody knew his background, they would have 
no idea whether he is Republican or Democrat. He is a committed officer 
of the court, totally fair to both sides. In fact, he is the type of 
nominee every President should send up. I wish we would see more like 
him. He is universally respected. He has proven himself over long years 
of Federal service and private practice to be a straight-shooting, 
fairminded person. Any litigant in a Federal courtroom can be confident 
they will get a fair hearing and a fair shake from him, no matter what 
their political affiliation is or whether they have any. I am pleased--
I am more than pleased, I am proud--to support his confirmation.
  One example of the fairness and lack of bias litigants in the Second 
Circuit can expect is seen in his answers to one of the questions I 
asked him at his nomination hearing before the Judiciary Committee. I 
asked him what his practice would be if a case came to the Second 
Circuit, a case that had been in the U.S. Attorney's office when he was 
there, even if he had not been the attorney handling the case. His 
answer, which I commend to all nominees, is a model of fairness, and 
was also a model of simplicity. He told me he would recuse himself from 
any case that had been before his office while he was there. No ifs, 
ands, or buts. That is one of the reasons why the Senate Judiciary 
Committee, which sometimes can be divided on issues, voted unanimously 
to support his nomination.
  His qualifications, experience, and support across the political 
spectrum make him the kind of consensus nominee that proves when there 
is thoughtful consideration and collaboration, this process works as it 
should. That is why I will be pleased to vote to confirm him today.
  Actually, an interesting sidebar on this, when he is confirmed to the 
Second Circuit, President George W. Bush will call his father, former 
President George Herbert Walker Bush, and say, I beat your record for 
judicial confirmations. During the 4 full years of the 41st President's 
administration, former President Bush managed to have 192 judicial 
nominees confirmed by the Senate. With today's vote, the Senate will 
have confirmed, even before the year is over, 193 of President George 
W. Bush's judicial nominations. That allows him to say he has had more 
judges confirmed with bipartisan cooperation by the Senate than 
President Reagan did in his first term of office, or his father did, or 
President Clinton in his last term of office.
  I mention these statistics being of interest.
  I am one lifelong Vermonter who is very proud of another Vermonter, 
Peter Hall. This is one of those things in our very special little 
State that will bring everybody together across the political spectrum. 
We have tried not to tell Peter he does have to spend some time in New 
York City each month because the Second Circuit sits there, but I think 
he will be able to work a great deal of his time in Vermont. Like me, 
that is one of the best of all possible worlds. You can be home on 
weekends.
  I understand from the leadership we will vote on this and another 
judicial nomination later this afternoon.
  Although I know the Presiding Officer is hanging on every word I 
might be saying, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Talent). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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