[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 18, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S2490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRATULATING STEPHANIE THACKER

  Mr. MANCHIN. Madam President, today I wish to congratulate Stephanie 
Dawn Thacker, a native of Hamlin, WV, on her confirmation to the 4th 
Circuit Court of Appeals.
  It is my privilege and my honor to speak on her behalf, and I am so 
proud she was confirmed. I would like to thank my colleague Senator Jay 
Rockefeller for nominating such a qualified jurist.
  Stephanie Thacker's impressive background and extensive list of 
accomplishments in both the public and private sectors make her an 
exceptional judge for the 4th Circuit. She is renowned in our State for 
her mastery of the law and of the courtroom, and I have no doubt that 
she will make a highly successful Federal judge.
  Ms. Thacker has dedicated much of her career to fighting some of the 
worst offenses in our society. As a trial attorney, Deputy Chief of 
Litigation, and Principal Deputy Chief, she spent several years 
prosecuting cases on Child Exploitation and Obscenity at the Department 
of Justice. Her outstanding work and leadership earned her a number of 
honors at the Department of Justice, including four ``Meritorious'' 
Awards and two ``Special Achievement'' awards.
  Her impressive performance in prosecuting the case of United States 
v. Dwight York earned her the Attorney General's ``Distinguished 
Service'' award, one of the Department's highest honors. She was also a 
recipient of the Assistant Attorney General's award for ``Special 
Initiative'' and ``Outstanding Victim and Witness Service.''
  Prior to her service at the Department of Justice, Ms. Thacker worked 
with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West 
Virginia, where she prosecuted a wide variety of criminal cases, 
including money laundering and fraud. While at the U.S. Attorney's 
Office, Ms. Thacker participated on the trial team prosecuting United 
States v. Bailey, the first case ever brought under the Violence 
Against Women Act.
  Since 2006, Ms. Thacker has been a partner at the law firm of Guthrie 
& Thomas in Charleston, West Virginia. There, she has concentrated on 
cases involving product liability, environmental and toxic torts, 
complex commercial defense, and criminal defense.
  Ms. Thacker was a model student in both her undergraduate and legal 
studies. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, 
magna cum laude, from Marshall University, and her J.D., Order of the 
Coif, from West Virginia University College of Law. While at West 
Virginia University she was a recipient of the Robert L. Griffin 
Memorial Scholarship and Editor of West Virginia Law Review's Coal 
Issue. She has also recently been named ``Outstanding Female Attorney'' 
by WVU Law's Women's Caucus.
  Ms. Thacker's wide-ranging expertise in civil and criminal matters, 
her impressive track record in the courtroom as both a prosecutor and a 
defense attorney, and her outstanding academic accomplishments will 
make her a first-rate addition to the 4th Circuit. I am proud to call 
her a fellow West Virginian and I am pleased that she has finally been 
confirmed.

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