[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 108 (Monday, July 9, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8785-S8786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NOMINATION OF JANET T. NEFF TO BE U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE WESTERN 
                          DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will proceed to Executive Calendar No. 140, which the clerk will 
report.
  The bill clerk read the nomination of Janet T. Neff, of Michigan, to 
be United States District Judge for the Western District of Michigan.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. I am about to yield momentarily to the Senator from 
Michigan. I know the Senator from Pennsylvania has assured, as I have, 
the Senator from Kansas that he will have a minute. Then I will yield 
back whatever time remains so we can go to a rollcall vote on this 
nomination. Neither the Senator from Pennsylvania nor I will ask for 
rollcall votes on the remaining nominations. They would then have a 
voice vote, assuming this one is confirmed.
  I yield such time as the Senator from Michigan needs.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I thank Judiciary Chairman Leahy and 
Ranking Member Specter for their assistance in moving forward the 
nominations of Judge Paul Maloney and Judge Janet Neff and Robert 
Jonker to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
  Judge Paul Maloney has served as a circuit judge on the Berrien 
County Trial Court for over 10 years. Judge Maloney also brings a 
wealth of public service experience to the bench, including: working as 
a Berrien County prosecutor, a deputy assistant attorney general in the 
Department of Justice and as chairman of the Michigan Sentencing 
Commission.
  Judge Janet Neff has served as a judge on the Court of Appeals for 
the Third District of Michigan for nearly 20 years. In addition to her 
distinguished career on the bench, Judge Neff has been an active leader 
in Grand Rapids, including serving as the first woman president of the 
Grand Rapids Bar Association.
  Robert Jonker has been a partner at Warner, Norcross & Judd in Grand 
Rapids for over 12 years. A life-long Michiganian, Robert Jonker is a 
graduate of Calvin College and the University of Michigan Law School, 
and has served as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Robert 
Feikens in the Eastern District.
  This situation is critical for my State. Currently, the Western 
District has only one full-time judge hearing cases, and the Judicial 
Conference has declared it a judicial emergency. Even when the bench is 
full, this district presents logistical challenges because it covers 
Michigan cities all the way from Marquette to Benton Harbor--St. Joe.
  I was deeply disappointed that in the last Congress, the Senate 
failed to act on these three nominees despite a bipartisan agreement 
between myself and Senator Levin and the administration.
  I am pleased the full Senate will be voting to confirm the three 
nominees, who will all bring distinguished legal careers to the Federal 
bench.
  This is an important example of how we can work together. I hope the 
administration sees the value of working together in a bipartisan 
fashion with the Senate to ensure an independent and impartial 
judiciary that is accessible to all.
  Senator Levin and I have worked closely with the White House. While 
it has taken longer than we would have liked to come to this point, we 
are extremely pleased and grateful to our distinguished chairman, who 
has worked very hard on our behalf, Senator Leahy, and the ranking 
member, Senator Specter. Both Senators have worked hard to bring these 
nominees forward. These are three very distinguished people from 
Michigan with tremendous credentials for the bench. They will serve 
ably, and I am proud to support them.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to vote against 
Judge Neff going onto the bench for a lifetime appointment. I have met 
directly with her. I have been present for two hearings where she has 
spoken on the controversial issue of same-sex marriage, which we all 
agree should be decided by legislative bodies and by the people, not by 
the courts. She has an

[[Page S8786]]

activist view on this issue. She participated in a ceremony herself. 
Then, when asked about her view toward same-sex unions, she said she 
considers it a continuing legal controversy. Her words: I really don't 
have an understanding of it, concerning the Michigan law. In Michigan, 
the State has defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman, both 
by the legislature and the people. She says it is not entirely settled. 
Here is an activist on a core issue, a difficult issue, one I think we 
all believe should be decided by legislative bodies and not by the 
courts. She would be one who would have a tendency to rule from the 
bench.
  I urge my colleagues to vote against Judge Neff.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Judge Neff was voted out of the committee 
with strong bipartisan support and was on the agenda to be confirmed 
under Republican control of the Senate last year when we had the snag 
on judges. She has my strong support and the support of the committee. 
I urge that she be confirmed.
  If nobody else is seeking recognition, I yield back the remainder of 
my time.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is, Will the Senate 
advise and consent to the nomination of Janet T. Neff, of Michigan, to 
be United States District Judge for the Western District of Michigan?
  The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. 
Dorgan), the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye), the Senator from South 
Dakota (Mr. Johnson), the Senator from Arkansas (Mrs. Lincoln), and the 
Senator from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Colorado (Mr. Allard), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), 
the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), the Senator from Nevada (Mr. 
Ensign), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), the Senator from South 
Dakota (Mr. Thune), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter), and the 
Senator from Ohio (Mr. Voinovich).
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 83, nays 4, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 240 Ex.]

                                YEAS--83

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Clinton
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--4

     Brownback
     Bunning
     Kyl
     Martinez

                             NOT VOTING--13

     Allard
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Dorgan
     Ensign
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Obama
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
  The nomination was confirmed.

                          ____________________