[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1013-S1014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MOODY NOMINATION

  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I wish to speak about a friend of mine and 
a Presidential nominee to be on the Federal bench in Arkansas. I will 
take 3 to 5 minutes. I know there are others who want to speak.
  Today I rise to support the nomination of Judge James Moody--whom in 
Arkansas we call Jay Moody--to be a Federal judge in the Eastern 
District of Arkansas. Jay has been a phenomenal judge and lawyer for a 
long time in Arkansas.
  One of the things this nomination illustrates to me and I think also 
brings home to people around the country is that this body should not 
play games with the third branch of government. We have our own issues. 
This body can be dysfunctional and highly partisan. Let's not export 
that to the judiciary. We have a fine man who has offered his services 
to be a Federal judge.
  If you look at what I like to look at, Is he well qualified? Yes, 
absolutely. Everyone agrees on that. Can he be fair and impartial? That 
is what you want in a judge. The answer is yes, he can be very fair and 
impartial. He has demonstrated that as a member of the Arkansas bench 
for a long time now.
  Also, especially in a district court position, does he have the right 
judicial temperament? I think every person who has ever dealt with 
Judge Jay Moody will say that he not only has the right temperament, 
but he meets and exceeds all of these criteria across the board. He is 
exactly the kind of judge we should all want.
  In fact, there is no reason why Judge Moody was not confirmed back in 
December. He should have been. But for the wrangling here in the 
Senate, but for the problems we have had in the Senate in the last 
several months, he would be a Federal judge today, and he should be a 
Federal judge today. In fact, 2 weeks ago I came to the floor and asked 
for consent that we go ahead and just confirm him by unanimous consent, 
but that was not granted.
  Since 2003 Jay Moody has served as a circuit judge--that is a trial 
court judge in Arkansas--for the Sixth Judicial District, which is the 
Little Rock area. He previously worked at the Wright, Lindsey & 
Jennings law firm, which is one of the most prestigious firms in the 
State. It is a very well-known law firm. It is highly professional, has 
a great reputation. He became a partner there in 1994, just a few years 
after he joined the firm. He also spent time as an adjunct professor at 
the University of Arkansas Bowen School of Law, where he earned his 
J.D. He is also a member of a number of different lawyer groups and 
associations--at least he was before he entered the bench.
  I could spend 20 minutes talking about his qualifications, talking 
about what a fine nominee and fine selection Jay Moody is to be a 
district court judge in the Eastern District of Arkansas, but, 
honestly, this turns out to be a no-brainer, so I am not going to 
belabor his qualifications and why we should do this other than to say 
that I know I am tired--and I think people all over the country are 
also tired--of the gridlock here in Washington. They look at a State 
such as Arkansas where we have eight Federal district court judges and 
we have two vacancies. These vacancies should have been filled back in 
December. There is no reason why they should not. But they have been 
working under 75 percent horsepower now for months. We could have fixed 
that back in December, but because of the wrangling here in the Senate 
and in Washington, that was not done.
  Today is the day we can rectify that. Today is the day we can confirm 
Judge Moody to be on the Federal bench.
  I think we can all be very proud of this nomination. Again, he is 
exactly what we would all want in a Federal judge. That is confirmed by 
talking to lawyers in Arkansas. It does not matter if you are a 
criminal or civil lawyer; it does not matter if you are a plaintiff's 
lawyer or a defense lawyer; everybody agrees he will be a great Federal 
judge.
  One of his old law partners, the managing partner of Wright, Lindsey 
& Jennings, Ed Lowther, told me one time--I said: How is Jay Moody on 
the bench? Of course, we all knew him as a lawyer. How is he on the 
bench? He paid one of the best compliments a lawyer can pay to a judge. 
He said, ``He gets his work done.'' Can we really ask for any more than 
that? He gets his work done. He takes care of it.
  In fact, it is almost uncanny when you look at the very difficult, 
high-profile, complicated cases that come to the trial court level in 
Pulaski County Circuit Court. Again, that is our trial court there in 
Little Rock. Almost always, he is the one who ends up with the case. 
Not only do the lawyers love him and appreciate him, but also his 
colleagues obviously have a lot of respect, and they often hand off the 
more difficult cases to Judge Moody.
  In fact, I heard a conversation here on the floor just 2 or 3 weeks 
ago. My colleague, Senator Boozman of Arkansas, is supportive of this 
nominee and has been helping push this nominee through the process. He 
went to the Judiciary Committee--by the way, this nomination has come 
through the Judiciary Committee not once but twice. Senator Boozman 
helped push him through the Judiciary Committee, helped get him to the 
floor, and has talked to his Republican colleagues. I overheard a 
conversation the other day where Senator Boozman was talking to Leader 
McConnell. John Boozman turned to Senator McConnell and said, ``Mitch, 
this guy is great.'' He said, ``You could not have picked someone 
better had you picked him yourself.'' That is really Jay Moody in a 
nutshell.
  With that, I would like to ask my colleagues to vote for this 
nomination today. I believe we will vote in about 30 to 45 minutes. I 
am not sure exactly what time we start. But I ask my colleagues to 
support this nomination.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Murphy.). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. JOHANNS. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.

[[Page S1014]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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