[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 56 (Wednesday, May 10, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S4329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE HONORABLE STEPHEN M. McNAMEE

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, it is with great pride that I rise today to 
honor a respected jurist and dedicated public servant upon the occasion 
of his stepping down as the Chief Judge of the United States District 
Court for the District of Arizona.
  The Honorable Stephen M. McNamee earned his bachelor of arts in 
history from the University of Cincinnati in 1964. He received his 
master of arts degree in 1967 and his juris doctor degree in 1969 from 
the University of Arizona.
  Judge McNamee began his professional career as an assistant U.S. 
attorney, a position he held from 1971 to 1985. During that time, he 
was chief of the civil division in Tucson, chief assistant U.S. 
attorney, and first assistant U.S. attorney.
  In 1985, President Reagan appointed him U.S. attorney for the 
District of Arizona. He made prosecuting violent crime within the 21 
Native American communities in Arizona a top priority, particularly the 
prosecution of those who victimize Native American children. He also 
implemented model collection procedures for fines and penalty 
assessments of Federal defendants--the source of funding for the entire 
Victims of Crime Act program. Additionally, he testified before 
congressional committees on behalf of the Department of Justice 
regarding a variety of issues from terrorist threats to the southwest 
border, to child abuse and neglect on Indian reservations, to theft of 
Indian artifacts from archeological sites, to the reauthorization of 
the Victims of Crimes Act of 1984. At the behest of Attorney General 
Richard Thornburgh, he helped organize the first major conference to 
bring together American and Mexican criminal justice officials.
  In 1990, he was appointed to the Federal bench by President George 
H.W. Bush, and in that capacity he developed a similar program to bring 
Mexican and U.S. Federal judges together to learn about each other's 
processes and procedures. As the chief judge of the District of 
Arizona, Judge McNamee managed a burgeoning docket. Since 1999, the 
filing of criminal cases went up 80 percent and civil case filings went 
up 59 percent. Nevertheless, under his leadership, the number of cases 
pending for 3 years or more has declined nearly 20 percent.
  Judge McNamee has been an active liaison to Congress for the 
Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the Federal 
judiciary. He was appointed to the board of directors of the Federal 
Judges Association and has served on several Ninth Circuit and District 
of Arizona committees addressing a wide range of issues, from capital 
cases to racial, religious, and ethnic fairness to security issues.
  As a distinguished member of the community, Judge McNamee has been 
the recipient of almost two dozen international, national, and State 
commendations and awards. He exemplifies the highest standards that we 
have come to expect from our judiciary, and we thank him for his 
service.

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