[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15606-15608]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

    NOMINATION OF HENRY E. AUTREY, OF MISSOURI, TO BE UNITED STATES 
          DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of Henry E. 
Autrey, of Missouri, to be United States District Judge, which the 
clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Henry E. 
Autrey, of Missouri, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern 
District of Missouri.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Senate Judiciary Committee moved 
expeditiously to consider Judge Henry Autrey despite the poor treatment 
of President Clinton's nominees in the same circumstances. I mention 
this because this vacancy is special. It is a vacancy to which Justice 
Ronnie White should have been confirmed. But in October of 1999, my 
friends on the other side of the aisle, the Republicans, marched from a 
closed-door meeting to vote lockstep against Justice Ronnie White, the 
first African American Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, after his 
nomination to the District Court had been kept waiting for 2 years--2 
years here in the Senate; actually kept on the Executive Calendar 
pending for 9 months.
  I mention this because, with all the unfair criticism of Majority 
Leader Daschle, who has been moving judges through at a much faster 
pace than was done prior to him becoming majority leader, I just want 
to contrast the difference between that action and the one on this 
nomination, where we are going to confirm Judge Autrey to the Federal 
bench in Missouri.
  It shows, also, Senator Carnahan showed far more grace in helping us 
move this nominee forward.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time? The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, first my appreciation to the President for 
nominating Judge Autrey. My thanks to Chairman Leahy and the Senate 
Judiciary Committee for voting unanimously to confirm him.
  We will have discussions about other procedures and other activities 
in a different forum. In this forum, I express my strongest support and 
highest confidence that this candidate respects the role of judges in 
our system of government--the job being to interpret the job rather 
than to legislate it.
  Permit me to tell you that Judge Henry Autrey currently serves as a 
circuit court judge for the 22nd Judicial Circuit for the State of 
Missouri, City of St. Louis. Judge Autrey served with distinction as an 
associate circuit judge beginning in 1986, a position to which he was 
appointed by then-Governor, John Ashcroft. He was later promoted to the 
full circuit bench by then-Governor of Missouri, Mel Carnahan.
  As a sitting judge for over 15 years, Judge Autrey has displayed an 
unwavering commitment to honesty and approachability, earning a 
reputation as a thoughtful and hard-working judge with a judicious 
temperament.
  Prior to his service on the bench, he served as a prosecutor in the 
City of St. Louis for 9 years, won convictions in several high-profile 
cases, and led the office in its work in the area of child abuse 
prosecution.
  His entire career has been spent in the courtroom and therefore he 
exemplifies someone who has both the personal qualities and the 
experience to fill this spot and perform this duty in an exemplary 
manner. He is highly regarded by the law enforcement community in St. 
Louis. Countless attorneys have expressed their support for him. He has 
the support of the Mound City Bar Association of St. Louis, the 
Missouri Prosecuting Attorneys, and the Women Lawyers Association of 
Greater St. Louis.
  He is an ideal candidate for the position.
  I appreciate the Senate proceeding to this nomination, and I urge my 
colleagues to give Judge Autrey their favorable consideration. I 
reserve my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I inform my colleagues when we conclude this series of 
votes, whatever the number may be--and we will clarify that after this 
vote--that will conclude the rollcalls for this week. So I urge my 
colleagues to stay on the floor.
  This is a 10-minute vote, and whatever additional votes will be 10-
minute votes. If we have to wait 15 or 20 minutes, it just prolongs the 
time until we will have completed our work on this block of votes and 
then, therefore, the final, official vote of the week.
  So I urge my colleagues to stay on the floor and respond to the votes 
as their names are called.
  I thank the Chair.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the nomination 
of Henry E. Autrey to the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District 
of Missouri.
  I have enjoyed reviewing Judge Autrey's distinguished legal record, 
and I am confident that he will make a fine Federal judge.
  Judge Autrey is no stranger to the citizens of eastern Missouri. He 
has strong roots in the city of St. Louis, having graduated from the 
University of St. Louis School of Law and having served in the city's 
Office of the Circuit Attorney, where he prosecuted a variety of 
criminal cases and later acted as the First Assistant Circuit Attorney. 
He also served on the Rape Trial Task Force and created the first child 
abuse unit in the Office of the Circuit Attorney. From 1991 to 1997 he 
served as Adjunct Professor of Law at St. Louis University School of 
Law.
  Judge Autrey's prosecutorial excellence attracted the attention of 
both Republican Governor John Ashcoft, who appointed him as an 
Associate Circuit Judge on the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis 
in 1986, and Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan, who elevated him to 
Circuit Court Judge in 1997. Judge Autrey's judicial experience on the 
State bench will serve him well in the district court.
  Judge Autrey is described by associates as a judge who ``work[s] very 
hard to ensure that justice is provided to all'' and as a ``smart and 
hard-working jurist.'' He merited an ABA rating of ``Unanimous 
Qualified,'' and I fully expect him to serve with distinction on the 
Federal bench in Missouri.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Senate Judiciary Committee moved 
expeditiously to consider Judge Henry Autrey as it has with so many of 
President Bush's judicial nominees. We have done so despite the poor 
treatment of President Clinton's nominees by the Republicans when they 
were in the majority from 1995 through the first half of 2001.
  The vacancy being filled by this nomination is special. This is the 
vacancy that Justice Ronnie White should have been confirmed to fill. 
But on October 5, 1999, Republicans marched from their closed-door 
meeting to vote lockstep against Justice Ronnie White. This, even 
though he had been favorably reported twice by the Judiciary Committee 
with the apparent backing of from four and seven of the Republicans who 
served on the committee.
  I remember the treatment of Ronnie White very well, as do people in 
Missouri, I am sure. I recall the efforts made by Gov. Mel Carnahan on 
Justice White's behalf and how hard I had to work as the ranking 
Democrat to get his nomination reported to the floor, not once but 
twice, and to secure a floor vote after the nomination had been pending 
2 years and had been pending on the Senate Executive Calendar for 9 
months.
  It has now been been almost 5 years since anyone nominated to the 
Federal district court in Missouri has been confirmed. The vacancy to 
which Judge Autrey has been nominated has been vacant even longer--
since December 1996, when the late Judge Gunn took senior status. 
President Clinton nominated Missouri Supreme Court Judge

[[Page 15607]]

Ronnie White to this vacancy in June 1997. He had to wait nearly a year 
for a hearing, until May 1998. The committee reported the nomination 
favorably to the Senate with only three negative votes of the 18 
members of the committee. But his nomination sat waiting for a full 
Senate vote, and, having never received one, was sent back to President 
Clinton at the end of the 105th Congress after languishing for 6 months 
on the Senate floor without action.
  The President renominated Justice White in January of 1999. He was 
voted out of the committee a second time in July with at least four of 
the Republicans on the committee in apparent support of the nomination. 
After a great deal of effort on the part of Democratic Senators, I 
thought we had secured for him a fair floor vote. Instead, on October 
5, 1999, the Republican-controlled Senate ambushed Justice White's 
nomination for partisan gain. As is by now a well-known story, Ronnie 
White was the victim of a sneak attack on that day. He was defeated on 
an unprecedented party-line Senate vote and was branded ``pro-
criminal.'' These issues were aired during the confirmation hearing of 
John Ashcroft last year. Senator Specter, to his credit, offered an 
apology to Justice White for the way he was treated.
  When there is so much unfair criticism of the way Majority Leader 
Daschle and I have been handling nominations since the change in Senate 
control last July, I mention this to help contrast the treatment of 
judicial nominees by Democrats and Republicans. As I have said from the 
outset, the Democratic majority is treating President Bush's nominees 
more fairly and moving more of them more quickly than the Republican 
majority acted with respect to President Clinton's nominees. That is 
undeniable and today, in yet another example of the stark contrast in 
our approaches and our actions, we will join to confirm Judge Autrey to 
the Federal bench in Missouri.
  I commend, in particular, Senator Carnahan for her support of the 
fair treatment of Judge Autrey, despite the unfair way Justice White 
had been treated. Her actions underscore for us what we all know about 
her that she is a person of character and grace, willing to work on a 
bipartisan basis in the best interests of the State of Missouri.
  With today's vote on the nomination of Judge Henry Autrey to the 
District Court for the Western District of Missouri, the Democratic-led 
Senate will have confirmed a total of 65 judicial nominees since the 
change in Senate majority 1 year ago. The Senate has now confirmed more 
nominees in a little more than 1 year than were confirmed in any year 
during the past 6\1/2\ years of Republican control of the Senate, from 
1995 through 2001. For that matter, we have confirmed more judges than 
were confirmed in 1996 and 1997 combined. Contrast the 65 judges 
confirmed by the Democratic Senate with the Republican average, during 
their past 6\1/2\ years of control, of confirming only 38 judges a 
year.
  I congratulate the nominee and his family on his confirmation today 
and commend Senator Carnahan and Majority Leader Daschle for all they 
have done to bring us to this day.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time? Is all time yielded back?
  Mr. BOND. I yield my time.
  Mr. LEAHY. I yield any time we have.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of Henry E. Autrey, of Missouri, to be United 
States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri?
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a 
sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka) is 
necessarily absent.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. 
Helms) is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 205 Ex.]

                                YEAS--98

     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carnahan
     Carper
     Chafee
     Cleland
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Akaka
     Helms
       
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is laid on the table, and the President will be immediately 
notified of the Senate's action.
  The majority leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, it is now my intention to go to seven 
additional district court nominees. Senator Leahy and the Judiciary 
Committee have done an extraordinary job of reporting these out. They 
have been on the calendar. And it is certainly Senator Leahy's 
prerogative to ask for a rollcall vote on each nominee.
  He and I have discussed this matter, and I would ask the Senator from 
Vermont, the distinguished chair of the Judiciary Committee, about the 
need to have additional rollcalls for each of these district judges.
  I yield the floor for that purpose.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I tell the distinguished majority leader, 
the only concern I have had about having rollcall votes is, a couple 
times we have taken a group of these and had voice votes, with seven, 
eight going through, and the next day my good friends on the other side 
of the aisle and the White House have had a press release saying we 
have not had a single judge voted on in weeks in the Senate. I think 
they only notice it if there is a rollcall vote.
  I ask my friend, the majority leader, if we do these 7, am I correct 
that would mean we will have confirmed 72 judges in less than 13 
months?
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, that is the current count, 72 district 
and circuit court judges over that period of time.
  Mr. LEAHY. I believe that sets sort of a record for the last 5 or 6 
years, in any event.
  Mr. President, I know some of my colleagues have the sprint-for-the-
airport look in their eye, trying to get home.
  I am willing to sacrifice my time and spend the next month, the month 
of August, in Vermont, close to my constituents, onerous as that may 
seem.
  I would be perfectly willing to accept voice votes on each of these 
seven judges, but I would just ask my friends: Please, don't issue a 
press release tomorrow saying that we only voted on one judge today.
  We have already voted on one. I will take voice votes on the others.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished chair of the 
Judiciary Committee. I appreciate very much his cooperation in this 
regard.
  Let me tell my colleagues who need to remember, even though we are 
going through these voice votes, there is one more rollcall vote on the 
conference report on the trade promotion authority legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to consider the 
following nominations and that they be considered individually: 
Executive Calendar Nos. 863, 864, 865, 866, 867, 887, and 888.

[[Page 15608]]

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

                          ____________________