[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 173 (Wednesday, December 22, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S11066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Nomination of Louis Butler

  Mr. KOHL. Madam President, I am deeply disappointed that the Senate 
has failed to vote on Louis Butler's nomination to the district court 
for the Western District of Wisconsin. The partisan bickering that has 
prevented a debate and vote on several district court nominees is a 
stark reversal of Senate tradition and practice.
  Justice Butler is exceptionally well qualified for the Federal bench. 
By dint of hard work and perseverance, Justice Butler rose from humble 
beginnings to be an accomplished lawyer, advocate, trial court judge, 
Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, and professor. Few nominees have such 
a strong record of public service. Justice Butler's career has been 
distinguished by the years he has spent fulfilling the Constitution's 
guarantee of an attorney and fair trial for all Americans, rich and 
poor alike. He cut his teeth as a young lawyer representing defendants 
who could not afford legal representation. As a trial court judge, he 
earned a reputation for being a tough but fair jurist and was 
recognized as a top Milwaukee judge.
  Justice Butler was the first African American to sit on the Wisconsin 
Supreme Court and he served there with distinction for 4 years. During 
his time on the court, he participated in hundreds of cases, many of 
which were decided by a unanimous or near-unanimous court. He proved 
himself to be a hard-working, thoughtful and consensus-building 
justice.
  We ask our judges to make the most difficult decisions in the closest 
cases, neither an easy nor simple task. Over the course of Justice 
Butler's tenure as a trial judge and a State supreme court justice, he 
has faithfully carried out this duty by following the law with the 
impartiality, integrity and respect that we demand of a judge. Justice 
Butler has an impressive legal background that would serve our Federal 
bench well. Indeed he is a very fine man. He is deeply committed to the 
law, to his community, and to his family.
  Justice Butler's nomination proves once again that the process we use 
in Wisconsin to choose Federal judges and U.S. attorneys ensures 
excellence. The Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission has been used 
to select Federal judges and U.S. attorneys in Wisconsin for 30 years. 
Through a great deal of cooperation and careful consideration, and by 
keeping politics to a minimum, we always find highly qualified 
candidates like Justice Butler.
  I believe that Justice Butler would make a fine addition to the 
Federal bench, and I regret that he and other district court nominees 
have not been given the up-or-down votes that they deserve.

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