[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S3697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Eric C. Schulte

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm 
Eric Schulte to the U.S. District Court for the District of South 
Dakota.
  Born in Sioux Falls, SD, Mr. Schulte received both his B.A. and his 
J.D. from the University of South Dakota. After clerking for the judges 
of the Second Judicial Circuit in Sioux Falls, Mr. Schulte joined 
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz, and Smith, where he has spent his entire 
legal career--first as an associate and later as a partner. In his more 
than two decades at Davenport Evans, he has engaged in every aspect of 
litigation, from drafting pleadings and conducting written discovery, 
to trying 22 trials to verdict. In addition, Mr. Schulte has also 
argued before the South Dakota Supreme Court seven times.
  The American Bar Association unanimously rated Mr. Schulte ``well 
qualified'' to serve on the district court, and he has the strong 
support of Senators Thune and Rounds. Mr. Schulte's deep ties to the 
South Dakota legal community, combined with his courtroom experience, 
will make him well-positioned to serve on the Federal bench with 
distinction.
  I thank my colleagues for supporting his nomination.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican whip.
  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I rise today in support of the nomination 
of an outstanding South Dakotan, Eric Schulte, who has been nominated 
to fill a vacancy at the U.S. District Court for the District of South 
Dakota.
  Eric Schulte is a lifetime resident of South Dakota who received his 
J.D. from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1999.
  From 1999 to 2000, he served as a law clerk to the South Dakota 
Second Judicial Circuit in Sioux Falls, and he has been a partner at 
the Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz, and Smith law firm since 2005.
  He was also president of the South Dakota state bar association from 
2015 to 2016. And in his spare time, he is a member of the Academy of 
American Poets and a frequent contributor to ``Pasque Petals,'' the 
South Dakota State Poetry Society magazine.
  Mr. Schulte has the experience and knowledge to be a district judge; 
and, crucially, I believe that he has the character and impartiality 
for a lifetime appointment on the Federal bench.
  I strongly support his nomination, and I encourage my colleagues to 
confirm him as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the State of 
South Dakota.
  I yield the floor.