[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 104 (Monday, June 23, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5954-S5955]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    NOMINATION OF MICHAEL E. O'NEILL

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I now ask consent that my next remarks be 
labeled nomination of Michael E. O'Neill for the United States District 
Court for the District of Columbia.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. SPECTER. I am pleased to submit my very strong recommendation to 
my colleagues to confirm the nomination of Michael E. O'Neill for the 
District Court for the District of Columbia. The President submitted 
his name last Thursday. I had tried to come to the floor to speak at 
that time but could not do so.
  I am pleased to do so now. Michael O'Neill has an extraordinary 
record. He graduated summa cum laude from Brigham Young University and 
received his law degree from Yale Law School. He was editor of the 
Articles and Book Reviews of the Yale Law Journal; and Articles Editor 
of the Yale Journal on Regulation.
  He served as a law clerk to Judge David Sentelle and clerked for the 
Supreme Court of the United States for Justice Clarence Thomas.
  I ask unanimous consent that his full resume be included in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                           Michael E. O'Neill


       United States District Court for the District of Columbia

       Birth: 1962, Wisconsin.
       Legal Residence: Maryland.
       Education: B.A., summa cum laude, Brigham Young University, 
     1987; J.D., Yale Law School, 1990--Editor of Articles and 
     Book Reviews, Yale Law Journal; Articles Editor, Yale Journal 
     on Regulation.
       Employment: Law Clerk, Honorable David B. Sentelle, United 
     States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, 
     1990-1991; Litigation Counsel, Honors Program, Appellate 
     Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1991-
     1994; Special Assistant United States Attorney, United States 
     Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, 1993; Special 
     Counsel, Detailee from Dept. of Justice, Senate Judiciary 
     Committee, Senator Orrin Hatch, 1994-1996; Law Clerk, 
     Honorable Clarence Thomas, United States Supreme Court, 1996-
     1997; General Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator 
     Orrin Hatch, 1997-1998; Associate Professor of Law, George 
     Mason University School of Law, 1998-present; Commissioner, 
     United States Sentencing Commission, 1999-2005; Chief Counsel 
     and Staff Director, Senate Judiciary Committee, 2005-2007.

  Mr. SPECTER. It is especially worthwhile to have Mr. O'Neill 
confirmed because of the example it sets for people who come to 
undertake public service. Mr. O'Neill served on the Judiciary Committee 
for a protracted period of time. When Senator Hatch was the Chairman, 
he was special counsel from 1994 to 1996 and general counsel from 1997 
to 1998, before he became associate professor of law at George Mason 
University School of Law; and he served as chief counsel and staff 
director for the 2 years I served as Chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee.
  I do not need a resume to tell people how competent he is and how 
public spirited he is and what an outstanding Federal judge he would 
make.
  There have been quite a number of situations where people working on 
the Judiciary Committee have gone on to Federal judgeships. I think it 
is a very healthy thing to have that as a motivation to come for public 
service. People have come to serve on the Judiciary Committee, leaving 
jobs making half a million dollars or more for $100,000. The public 
service is so important that it is exemplary to give them this 
recognition to motivate our people to come to take these jobs.
  One example I would note is Stephen Breyer, who was special counsel 
and chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee back in 1980 for 
then-Chairman Ted Kennedy. Mr. Breyer was then appointed on the First 
Circuit and is now on the Supreme Court of the United States.
  I ask unanimous consent that this table be included in the Record 
showing the movement of people who have served on the Judiciary 
Committee and the jobs which they have taken in other Federal 
positions.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Previous                            Nomination         Date         Date
             Name                  position(s)          Senator           position       nominated    confirmed
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beryl Howell..................  General Counsel,   Leahy............  U.S. Sentencing      1/9/2007    2/28/2007
                                 U.S. Senate                           Commission.
                                 Judiciary
                                 Committee.
Stephen Breyer................  Special Counsel,   Kennedy..........  Judge, First       11/13/1980    12/9/1980
                                 U.S. Senate                           Circuit.
                                 Judiciary
                                 Committee.
  ............................    ...............    ...............  (Breyer Later       5/17/1994     8/3/1994
                                                                       Nominated)
                                                                       Associate
                                                                       Justice,
                                                                       Supreme Court
                                                                       \1\.
Paul D. Clement...............  Chief Counsel,     Ashcroft.........  Solicitor           3/14/2005     6/8/2005
                                 U.S. Senate                           General,
                                 Judiciary                             Department of
                                 Subcommittee on                       Justice.
                                 the
                                 Constitution,
                                 Federalism and
                                 Property Rights.
Sharon Prost..................  Chief Counsel....  Hatch............  Judge, U.S.         5/21/2001    9/21/2001
                                                                       Court of
                                                                       Appeals,
                                                                       Federal Circuit.
Paul Redmond Michel...........  Counsel/           Specter..........  Judge, U.S.        12/19/1987    2/29/1988
                                 Administrative                        Court of
                                 Assistant.                            Appeals,
                                                                       Federal Circuit.
Randal Ray Rader..............  Chief Counsel,     Hatch............  Judge, U.S.         6/12/1990     8/3/1990
                                 Senate Judiciary                      Court of
                                 Committee,                            Appeals,
                                 Subcommittee on                       Federal Circuit.
                                 the
                                 Constitution,
                                 1981-1986
                                 Counsel to U.S.
                                 Sen. Orrin G.
                                 Hatch, 1981-1988
                                 Chief Counsel/
                                 Minority Staff
                                 Director, Senate
                                 Judiciary
                                 Committee,
                                 Subcommittee on
                                 Patents,
                                 Trademarks and
                                 Copyrights, 1987-
                                 1988.
Ralph K. Winter, Jr...........  Consultant, U.S.   Ervin............  Judge, Second      11/18/1981    12/9/1981
                                 Senate Judiciary                      Circuit.
                                 Committee,
                                 Subcommittee on
                                 Separation of
                                 Powers (1968-
                                 1972).
Emory Sneeden.................  Chief Minority     Thurmond.........  Judge, Fourth        8/1/1984    10/4/1984
                                 Counsel, U.S.                         Circuit.
                                 Senate Judiciary
                                 Subcommittee on
                                 Antitrust and
                                 Monopoly (1979-
                                 1981).
Dennis W. Shedd...............  Counsel..........  Thurmond.........  Judge, District    10/17/1990   10/27/1990
                                                                       of South
                                                                       Carolina.
                                                                      Judge, Fourth
                                                                       Circuit.
                                                                      (Shedd Later         5/9/2001   11/19/2002
                                                                       Nominated)
                                                                       Judge, Fourth
                                                                       Circuit.
Edward J. Damich..............  Chief              Hatch............  Judge, United       9/29/1998   10/21/1998
                                 Intellectual                          States Court of
                                 Property,                             Federal Claims.
                                 Counsel for the
                                 Senate Judiciary
                                 Committee.
Lawrence Baskir...............  Chief Counsel and  Ervin............  Judge, United        1/7/1997   10/21/1998
                                 Staff Director                        States Court of
                                 to the                                Federal Claims.
                                 Constitutional
                                 Rights
                                 Subcommittee of
                                 the Senate
                                 Judiciary
                                 Committee.
Reed O'Connor.................  Counsel, U.S.      Hatch/Cornyn.....  Judge, Northern     6/27/2007   11/16/2007
                                 Senate Judiciary                      District of
                                 Committee.                            Texas.
Terry Wooten..................  Chief Counsel,     Thurmond.........  Judge, District     6/18/2001    11/8/2001
                                 U.S. Senate                           of South
                                 Judiciary                             Carolina.
                                 Committee.
Dee Vance Benson..............  Counsel, U.S.      Hatch............  Judge, District     5/16/1991    9/12/1991
                                 Senate Committee                      of Utah.
                                 on the
                                 Judiciary,
                                 Subcommittee on
                                 the
                                 Constitution,
                                 1984-1986 Chief
                                 of staff, U.S.
                                 Sen. Orrin
                                 Hatch, 1986-1988.
Kristi DuBose.................  Chief Counsel      Sessions.........  Judge, Southern     9/28/2005   12/21/2005
                                 (1997-1999).                          District of
                                                                       Alabama.
Henry Michael Herlong.........  Legislative        Thurmond.........  Judge, District      4/9/1991     5/9/1991
                                 Assistant.                            of South
                                                                       Carolina.
Mary McLaughlin...............  Chief Counsel,     Specter..........  Judge, Eastern       3/9/2000    5/24/2000
                                 Subcommittee on                       District of
                                 Terrorism,                            Pennsylvania.
                                 Technology and
                                 Government,
                                 Committee on the
                                 Judiciary (1995).
Patti Saris...................  Staff Counsel,     Kennedy..........  Judge, District    10/27/1993   11/20/1993
                                 U.S. Senate                           of
                                 Judiciary                             Massachusetts.
                                 Committee, 1979-
                                 1981.
Nora M. Manella...............  Counsel to the     Tunney...........  Judge, Central      3/31/1998   10/21/1998
                                 Subcommittee on                       District of
                                 the Constitution                      California.
                                 of the U.S.
                                 Senate Judiciary
                                 Committee (1976-
                                 1978).

[[Page S5955]]

 
Brett Tolman..................  Counsel..........  Specter..........  U.S. Attorney,       6/9/2006    7/21/2006
                                                                       District of
                                                                       Utah.
William Walter Wilkins........  Legal Assistant..  Thurmond.........  U.S. Attorney,       5/7/2008     6/4/2008
                                                                       District of
                                                                       South Carolina.
Bennett William Raley.........  Chief Counsel,     Brown............  Assistant           5/24/2001    7/12/2001
                                 U.S. Senate                           Secretary of
                                 Judiciary                             the Interior
                                 Subcommittee on                       for Water and
                                 the                                   Science.
                                 Constitution,
                                 Federalism and
                                 Property Rights
                                 (1995).
Anthony Lowe..................  Senior             DeWine...........  Federal             3/22/2002    7/25/2002
                                 Legislative                           Insurance
                                 Counsel, U.S.                         Administrator,
                                 Senate Judiciary                      Federal
                                 Subcommittee on                       Emergency
                                 Antitrust,                            Management
                                 Competition and                       Agency.
                                 Business Rights.
Lee Sarah Liberman Otis.......  Chief Counsel,     Hatch............  General Counsel,    4/25/2001    5/24/2001
                                 U.S. Senate                           Department of
                                 Judiciary                             Energy.
                                 Subcommittee on
                                 Immigration.
Jon D. Leibowitz..............  Chief Counsel and  Kohl/Simon.......  Commissioner,       9/10/2004   11/21/2004
                                 Staff Director,                       Federal Trade
                                 U.S. Senate                           Commission.
                                 Judiciary
                                 Subcommittee on
                                 Antitrust,
                                 Business Rights
                                 and Competition.
Ray Kethledge.................  Counsel..........  Abraham..........  Judge, Sixth        3/19/2007      pending
                                                                       Circuit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Stephen Breyer's nomination was particularly remarkable because he was nominated by President Carter on
  November 13, 1980, after Carter had lost the election to Ronald Reagan. Senate Democrats, who had just lost
  control of the Senate, held a swift confirmation vote on Breyer during a lame duck session on December 9,
  1980.

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cardin). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Stabenow). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________