[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1743-S1744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Remembering Judge Peter W. Hall

  Madam President, now on an entirely different matter, I want to speak 
about a dear friend, U.S. Second Circuit Court Judge Peter Hall, who 
died on March 11.
  Ever since then, I have thought back to a conversation I had with 
him--just like many, many conversations I had with Judge Hall over the 
years--just a few days before he died. He was telling me about the 
health concerns he had, very serious ones, but that he was going to try 
one other thing that weekend that he had hoped may give him a longer 
spell of life, but it didn't. It was only a matter of days after that 
last conversation. As I said, it was one of many I had with him. A few 
days after that last conversation, he died. He died on March 11, just 1 
week after announcing his decision to take senior status.
  Chief judge of the Second Circuit, Debra Ann Livingston, gave a 
remarkable tribute in which she acknowledged his death.
  In speaking for the court, Chief Judge Livingston said:

       Judge Hall was our beloved colleague, and this is a 
     grievous loss for our Court and for all of our judges. Over 
     the course of nearly 17 years on the Court of Appeals, Judge 
     Hall distinguished himself as a thoughtful and humane jurist. 
     He was generous with his colleagues and ever considerate in 
     matters both big and small. Judge Hall was committed to 
     public service and taught us all by his example. He was a 
     kind and very dear friend. This is a sad day for the judges 
     of the Court of Appeals.

  A deeper read of the two-page announcement offered more insights that 
help us understand what made Judge Hall the exceptional jurist that he 
was. Noting that Judge Hall left a ``lasting mark'' on a generation of 
law clerks, Chief Judge Livingston shared an anecdote as was told by 
one of those clerks.
  She said:

       One winter morning we were working away in chambers, and he 
     had not turned up. Not unusual, but we were all wondering if 
     something had happened. He rolled in midday with his dirty 
     work pants and torn flannel shirt--in other words, no more 
     haggard than usual. He explained that he had taken his truck 
     through the woods that morning after taking care of the 
     horses but had gotten stuck. Luckily, he had an axe, so it 
     was only a matter of chopping down a few trees to put under 
     the truck tires for traction. He freed himself and made his 
     way into chambers like it was nothing--just another day on 
     the Second Circuit.

  Chief Judge Livingston repeated that story, told by one of Judge 
Hall's clerks.
  But, you know, the story speaks to the person Judge Hall was: never 
too important to carry out the chores of the day; never too far from 
the Vermont woods that he loved so much.
  I don't know how many times I would talk with him, and we might talk 
a little bit about the law or things like that, and then we would 
quickly go to tales of other Vermonters we knew, the things they had 
done, the places that we liked especially in our State.
  And I thought, as more tributes have flooded in, the most common 
remembrances, of Judge Hall include words such as ``decent,'' 
``gentle,'' and ``caring.''
  His long career, which spanned years in both private practice and as 
a Federal prosecutor before joining the bench, demonstrated his 
commitment to the rule of law. It was a commitment that he showed early 
on when he served as president of the Legal Aid Clinic, while still 
earning his juris doctorate at Cornell Law School.
  When I was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2003, I was 
proud to recommend Peter Hall for the circuit court vacancy left by the 
passing of another dear friend, Judge Fred I. Parker. And it was no 
surprise to me that his nomination was met with very little resistance, 
either from the White House or from Republicans and Democrats alike on 
the Judiciary Committee.
  I teased him sometimes about the fact that he was born in Hartford, 
CT, but moved to Vermont at the age of 11. Did that make him a real 
Vermonter? And the reaction I got from him was: Patrick, my great-
great-grandfather served as Governor of Vermont in the mid-1850s. I had 
to admit, the judge had me there.
  He always considered Vermont his home, and we are grateful that he 
did. Marcelle and I enjoyed our friendship, and we send our sincere 
condolences to his wife Maria Dunton and his five children and his five 
grandchildren.
  I would also note, in concluding, that Judge Hall's former law clerks 
released a touching tribute, and I ask consent--and I will ask consent 
in a moment that it be printed in the Record, along with a list of 
their names, over 60 law clerks.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that at the conclusion of my 
remarks, their statement and their names be included in the Record.
  Vermont and the legal community and the Federal bench have lost a 
great champion of justice.
  As Chief Judge Livingston concluded in her statement, ``Peter Hall 
lived a life of fidelity to principles, kindness to individuals, and 
service to the human community. He will be greatly missed.'' This is a 
great truth
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

    Statement Honoring Judge Peter W. Hall, by His Former Law Clerks

       On March 11, 2021, Vermont, the U.S. Court of Appeals for 
     the Second Circuit, and our nation lost one of our best. 
     Today, we honor Second Circuit Judge Peter W. Hall and write 
     in honor of his memory.
       Since his appointment in 2004, Judge Hall served on three-
     judge panels in over 750 cases and authored more than 150 
     opinions in published decisions. We consider ourselves 
     extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to assist him 
     in that great work and to benefit from his example, 
     mentorship, and friendship. To us, Judge Hall defines 
     integrity and public service. His commitment to protecting 
     and upholding the U.S. Constitution cannot be overstated.
       Judge Hall was exactly what everyone should want in a 
     jurist. If your faith in the American legal system had waned, 
     Judge Hall could restore it. Litigants arguing before him 
     have told us that from the bench, Judge Hall was fair-minded, 
     engaged, perceptive, and honest. And that is exactly how he 
     was in chambers too. Far from the cynical suggestion that 
     federal judges are merely instruments of their appointing 
     presidents, Judge Hall embodied the judicial oath, 
     approaching every case individually and without any political 
     predisposition. All that mattered was achieving the just and 
     legally correct result in every case, no matter how high 
     profile (or low profile) the litigants or issue.
       Judge Hall kept his home chambers in the United States Post 
     Office and Court House in downtown Rutland, Vermont. Judge 
     Hall affectionately referred to Rutland as ``the Center of 
     the Universe,'' and so it was for the years we were with him 
     there. Clerking for him was not only an education in the law, 
     but in life outside of the urban centers where many of us 
     went to law school. Who knew there were so many nuances to 
     the colors of fall foliage or that there was a ``mud season'' 
     between winter and spring? Traveling down to New York City 
     with him to hear cases once a month was a study in contrast. 
     Judge Hall demonstrated how to flourish in both worlds; he 
     was as comfortable in downtown Rutland as he was in the 
     marble courtrooms of the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse at 
     Foley Square. Judge Hall could seamlessly go from tending to 
     his horses on a Saturday to representing the Federal Judge's 
     Association at the International Association of Judges on a 
     Tuesday.
       Judge Hall possessed a rare and dedicated humility. You 
     will not find indulgent, flowery, or self-aggrandizing prose 
     in his opinions. Instead, you will find clear explanations of 
     what the law is and how it applied to the litigants before 
     him, written to be as understandable as possible to anyone 
     reading the opinion later. Of the more than 100 majority 
     opinions and countless summary orders Judge Hall authored in 
     his time on the Second Circuit, the Supreme Court of the 
     United States reversed only two (partially). We think that is 
     a pretty good record, but you would never have heard Judge 
     Hall tell you so.
       We are particularly grateful to Judge Hall for his 
     willingness to look outside the traditional boxes for his law 
     clerks. We are a unique crew, at least as law clerks to 
     judges on the Circuit Courts of Appeals go. Many of us were 
     non-traditional law students. Others graduated from law 
     schools outside of the elite institutions whose students can 
     expect to go on to Second Circuit clerkships.
       Others still took non-linear career paths to a clerkship, 
     working in the law before coming to chambers. Some of us were 
     all three.

[[Page S1744]]

     Judge Hall cared deeply about giving Vermonters, particularly 
     Vermont Law School graduates, and those from non-traditional 
     paths and backgrounds opportunities to learn and excel. Our 
     lives have been forever changed by the gift of having clerked 
     in his chambers. We hope that Judge Hall's leadership in 
     elevating diverse voices and experiences will further cement 
     his legacy on the Court and in the law. We owe him more than 
     we could ever repay.
       Judge Hall was a hero and a guiding light to many of us. He 
     was all a federal judge and a career public servant should 
     be. The United States is a more just nation because of his 
     decades of public service. We miss him dearly.
       M. Michael Cole; Timothy C. Doherty, Jr.; Minor Myers; Nora 
     Von Stange; Thomas Brad Davey; Erik W. Weibust; Robin D. 
     Barovick; Samuel I. Portnoy; Timothy C. Perry; Stacey D. 
     Neumann; Rachel Hannaford; Russell Plato; Jill Pfenning; 
     Reagan Roth; Melissa Kelly; Sanja Zgonjanin; Peter Sax; 
     Elizabeth (Betsy) Grossman; Tom Valente; Nikhil Rao; Alison 
     Share; Nomi Barst/Berenson.
       Christopher Worth; Matthew Grieco; Justin Brown; Peter Fox; 
     Katherine Padgett; Mark W. Vorkink; Shannon Wolf; Nathan P. 
     Murphy; Jonathan D. Lamberti; Molly E. Watson; Jonathan R. 
     Voegele; Megan E. Larkin; John H. Bernetich; Austin 
     Winniford; Aiysha S. Hussain; Mark Harrison Foster, Jr.; 
     Lydie Essama; Lucas C. Buzzard; Patrick A. Woods; Peter V. 
     Keays; Molly R. Gray; Michael A. Mcguane.
       Mike L. DiGiulio; Caryn A. Devins; Stephen F. Coteus; Ryan 
     M. Royce; Peter I. Dysart; L. Raymond Sun; Matthew J. Greer; 
     Danielle C. Quinn; Alex Nelson; Caroline C. Cease; Spencer R. 
     Allen; Elise Milne Keys; Leslie Cahill; Jenna Scoville; 
     Brentley Smith; Fiona O'Carroll; Amelia Hritz; Kelly Lester; 
     Joseph Hartunian; Zachary Dayno; Atticus DeProspo; John 
     Howard; Jessica Bullock.

  Mr. LEAHY. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.