[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 114 (Monday, June 22, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3117-S3118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Cory T. Wilson

  Mr. WICKER. Madam President, later on this afternoon, the Senate will 
vote on cloture on the nomination of Judge Cory Wilson to fill a 
vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
  I rise at this point in strong, enthusiastic support of confirmation 
for my friend, Judge Cory Wilson. This will be a historic moment for 
this body and for the administration. A vote to confirm Judge Wilson 
would make him the 200th judge to be confirmed under President Trump. 
This is the highest number of judges confirmed at this point in a 
Presidency since the Presidency of Jimmy Carter. Judge Wilson is an 
outstanding nominee to have this distinction.
  The seat we are voting to fill is actually the last remaining circuit 
court vacancy at this time, reflecting the remarkable progress we have 
made in rebuilding the Federal judiciary. Judge Wilson is an 
outstanding nominee to mark this milestone. His credentials, intellect, 
and respect for the rule of law are well established.
  The American Bar Association is considered by many to be the ``gold 
standard'' for assessing judicial nominees, and the American Bar 
Association has awarded Judge Wilson its highest rating of ``well 
qualified'' to serve on the Fifth Circuit. I certainly agree with this 
assessment by the ABA.
  In recent weeks, Senators on both sides of the aisle have been able 
to question Judge Wilson about his judicial philosophy, and I believe 
he has shown a steadfast commitment to honoring the Constitution and 
enforcing the laws passed by the Congress as we have written them.
  Judge Wilson is a native of South Mississippi and currently serves on 
the Mississippi Court of Appeals, where he decides appellate matters, 
including civil, commercial, domestic, and criminal appeals. He 
graduated from my alma mater, the University of Mississippi, with 
highest honors, and then he went on to Yale Law School, where he 
distinguished himself in many respects. He served on the Yale Law 
Journal, was a member of the Yale chapter of the Federalist Society, 
and was on the Barrister's Union, which is the equivalent of the Yale 
moot court. He served as a law clerk for the Court of Appeals for the 
Eleventh Circuit, having been appointed and having served as a clerk 
for Judge Cox on the Eleventh Circuit. He was a White House fellow for 
the Department of Defense, and then he came back to Mississippi.
  Before becoming a judge, Cory Wilson was an accomplished lawyer in 
his own right in private practice and served in senior roles in State 
government in the Mississippi Secretary of State's office and the 
office of the State Treasury. For 3 years, he also represented 
Mississippi's 73rd district in the State House of Representatives, 
where he was vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
  Judge Wilson is active in civic affairs and his church, Highlands 
Presbyterian Church. He and his wife Stephanie have one son.
  He has garnered respect and admiration and endorsements from many of 
my constituents during the years of service, and in the last few weeks 
and days, I have been presented with letters of endorsement from people 
who know him--lawyers he practiced with and people he has been 
associated with. In particular, I want to draw the attention of Members 
of the Senate to a letter from retired Judge Robert L. Gibbs of 
Jackson, MS.
  Who is Judge Gibbs to write a letter on behalf of Cory Wilson? For 
one thing, we should know that Judge Gibbs is a Democrat, and he 
practiced law in Mississippi for a time for Mississippi legal services. 
He spent 10 years in the office of the Mississippi attorney general, a 
statewide elected Democratic official, and then Robert Gibbs served as 
a circuit judge, an elected position in a Mississippi court of general 
jurisdiction. He served for some 7 years there as a circuit judge in 
Mississippi. That is who Judge Robert Gibbs is.
  Here is what Judge Gibbs says about our nominee, the very Cory Wilson 
whom we will be voting cloture on around 5:30 this afternoon.
  This is a letter dated June 10. It is to the chair and ranking member 
of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Graham and Senator 
Feinstein.

       Dear Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein:
       I submit this letter in support of the nomination of Judge 
     Cory T. Wilson for a seat on the Fifth Circuit Court of 
     Appeals.
       I am former Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit Court 
     District in Mississippi and have known Cory as an attorney, 
     who practiced before me and as a colleague as we worked on 
     cases together. From these experiences, I can attest that no 
     one works harder in this profession than Judge Wilson. When 
     we were representing clients, Cory would normally prepare the 
     first draft of pleadings and send it to me to review. Seldom 
     were there any reasons to make changes because he utilized 
     his legal abilities to navigate through the complexities of 
     the legal issues which resulted in a well thought out, 
     plausible argument.
       During Judge Wilson's investiture as a Judge on the 
     Mississippi Court of Appeals, I had the pleasure of being one 
     of the speakers.

  This is retired Judge Gibbs saying he had the pleasure of being one 
of the speakers.

       I spoke about three traits of Judge Wilson--(1) Respect, 
     (2) Character and (3) Legal Intelligence. To keep this letter 
     to a respectful length, I will not repeat everything I said 
     but the essence is, Cory respects everyone he comes into 
     contact with, he does not change who he is because of race or 
     political affiliations and his ability allow him to break 
     through legal jargon and get to the point.

  Judge Gibbs goes on to say this:

       Judge Wilson and I are quite different--I am Black and he 
     is White. I am older and he is younger. I am a Democrat and 
     he was a Republican (before he became a judge). I live in the 
     majority African American City of Jackson, Mississippi and he 
     lives in a suburb of Jackson. Yet these differences have 
     become our strengths. We often have lunch and discuss the 
     pressing issues of the day as friends. He has sought my 
     advice, based on my judicial experience, on how to be a 
     better judge. And while we may disagree on some matters, in 
     the end we realize that we are just two lawyers who want our 
     communities to be better and we know that having a fair 
     judiciary is one of the ways to make that happen.

  These are the words of an older, retired circuit judge who happens to 
be an African-American Democrat in endorsement of a younger White 
Republican nominee whom we will have a chance to vote on in a few 
moments. We need more members of the younger generation of whatever 
race who are best friends with an older generation of professionals of 
another race. We need more people like Judge Robert Gibbs and Judge 
Cory Wilson who are friends, who sit down, who have lunch together and 
discuss the law and the ways we can make this country better.
  I think this is a profound endorsement by someone of a different 
race, of a different political party, and of a different political 
philosophy, saying that Judge Cory Wilson is someone we will be proud 
to vote for.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this letter be printed in 
the Record at this point
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                            Gibbs Travis PLLC,

                                                    June 10, 2020.
     Re Nomination of Cory T. Wilson as Judge of the United States 
         Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

     Hon. Lindsey Graham,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Dianne Feinstein,
     Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein: I submit 
     this letter in support of the nomination of Judge Cory T. 
     Wilson for a seat on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
       I am former Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit Court 
     District in Mississippi and have known Cory as an attorney, 
     who practiced before me and as a colleague as we worked on 
     cases together. From these experiences, I can attest that no 
     one works harder in this profession than Judge Wilson.

[[Page S3118]]

     When we were representing clients, Cory would normally 
     prepare the first draft of pleadings and send it to me to 
     review. Seldom were there any reasons to make any changes 
     because he utilized his legal abilities to navigate through 
     the complexities of the legal issues which resulted in a well 
     thought out, plausible argument.
       During Judge Wilson's investiture as a Judge on the 
     Mississippi Court of Appeals, I had the pleasure of being one 
     the speakers. I spoke about three traits of Judge Wilson--(1) 
     Respect, (2) Character and (3) Legal Intelligence. To keep 
     this letter to a respectful length, I will not repeat 
     everything I said but the essence is, Cory respects everyone 
     he comes into contact with, he does not change who he is 
     because of race or political affiliations and his ability 
     allow him to break though legal jargon and get to the point.
       Judge Wilson and I are quite different--I am Black and he 
     is White. I am older and he is younger. I am a Democrat and 
     was a Republican (before he became a judge). I live in the 
     majority African American City of Jackson, Mississippi and he 
     lives in a suburb of Jackson. Yet these differences have 
     become our strengths. We often have lunch and discuss the 
     pressing issues of the day as friends. He has sought my 
     advice, based on my judicial experience, on how to be a 
     better judge. And while we may disagree on some matters, in 
     the end we realize that we are just two lawyers who want our 
     communities to be better and we know that having a fair 
     judiciary is one of the ways to make that happen.
       If you need any additional information or have any 
     question, please do not hesitate to let me know.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Robert L. Gibbs.

  Mr. WICKER. Again, let me just stress to my colleagues that Cory 
Wilson has gained a reputation as a fair and impartial judge and a good 
and decent man, and I am confident that this reputation will follow him 
as he serves on the Fifth Circuit. He will serve the circuit and our 
Nation well as a U.S. circuit judge.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.