[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 71 (Monday, May 20, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3590-S3591]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           McSHANE NOMINATION

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate will be voting 
on the confirmation of Judge Michael McShane today to serve as U.S. 
district court judge for the District of Oregon.
  Judge McShane is a product of the judicial selection committee that I 
have organized at home in Oregon. Senator Merkley has been in full 
support of this effort. Judge McShane is coming forward for 
consideration by the Senate as a result of the work of that special 
judicial selection committee made up of individuals with a variety of 
different philosophical views, and I am very pleased that the President 
has seen fit to send Judge McShane's name to the Senate.
  In a sentence, Judge McShane has a heart for people, a head for the 
law, and a high-minded sense of justice. I start by way of saying he 
certainly has outstanding academic credentials. He was a magna cum 
laude graduate from Gonzaga University. He attended the Northwestern 
School of Law at Lewis and Clark College where he graduated in the top 
10 percent of his class, and his accomplishments in the courtroom have 
earned him very high ratings by the American Bar Association.
  From an academic standpoint, Judge McShane is clearly qualified for 
this position. What I feel particularly strongly about--and what was 
evidently very important to our judicial selection committee--is that 
he has been an extraordinary member of our community.
  He always steps up when asked to help his community. For instance, he 
stepped up when he was called and asked to be an advocate for inner-
city and HIV-positive youngsters. While in these various leadership and 
volunteer roles, he has always come forward, not just to help but also 
to come up with innovative approaches in terms of his work with kids. 
We especially see this in his advocacy for at-risk youngsters in the 
Job Corps Program.
  Judge McShane brings these young people into his courtroom as interns 
to help with the day-to-day operations where they are given the 
opportunity to see the inner workings of our judicial system. In many 
instances Judge McShane literally guides them through the process and 
sets about to make it possible for them to be involved in ways we 
normally would not think of when we are looking at the role of a judge.
  For example, in many cases Judge McShane buys sport coats and khakis 
for these youngsters who might otherwise feel uncomfortable in a 
courtroom setting. Judge McShane, in his own words, has been known to 
say: I want to make sure those young people have a chance to 
``blossom.'' Those are the words he uses. He makes it possible for them 
to get the sport coats and khakis with his own money so they can 
participate in this unique training.
  This past year he was awarded the 2012 Oregon State Bar President's 
Public Service Award for his service to the community. He is involved 
in the Northwestern School of Law mentoring program, and in 2009 he was 
named the law school's Mentor of the Year.
  Also, through the classroom law project Judge McShane presides over 
Summer Law Camp for inner-city kids. On top of that, Judge McShane 
plays an important role as a foster--and now adoptive--parent through 
the Oregon Department of Human Services.
  We looked at that kind of community caring, and we said this is truly 
an exceptional individual. We juxtaposed that wonderful record of 
community service alongside of his legal track record.
  Judge McShane began his legal career as an attorney with the 
Metropolitan Public Defender's Office in Portland. We all understand 
the importance of public defenders. In 1997, as a result of his good 
work, he was appointed by the Oregon Supreme Court as a full-time pro 
tem judge. For the last decade he has been an adjunct professor at his 
alma mater, the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College, 
where he teaches trial advocacy and the criminal practice seminar.
  Among the many reasons I believe he is academically and 
professionally very qualified to be a judge is because his litigation 
experience includes both complex criminal and civil cases. He is the 
senior member of the Multnomah County Circuit Court's Death Penalty 
Panel and presided over more capital cases than any other sitting judge 
in our State. He has been a proven advocate for evidence-based 
sentencing, and he has a proof-based sentencing model for driving under 
the influence of intoxicants offenders that has now become the standard 
in Multnomah County.
  It is for all of those reasons--especially his track record in terms 
of community service as well as those outstanding professional 
experiences starting as a public defender and teaching in the 
classroom--that I am very

[[Page S3591]]

hopeful the Senate will agree with me on a bipartisan basis that Judge 
McShane is qualified to serve as the U.S. district court judge for the 
District of Oregon.
  As I indicated, Judge McShane has a heart for people, a head for the 
law, and a high-minded sense of justice. We have a long history in our 
State, as I think the President pro tempore of the Senate is aware, of 
some of those who have been part of our network of distinguished 
judges, and I have every confidence Judge McShane will join that list.
  I thank Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member 
Grassley for advancing Judge McShane's confirmation through the 
committee. I also wish to thank Leader Reid and Minority Leader 
McConnell for bringing this nomination to the floor, and I look forward 
to the vote we will have later today.
  I hope my colleagues, on a bipartisan basis, will vote to confirm 
Judge Michael McShane as U.S. district court judge for the District of 
Oregon.
  I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. STABENOW. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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