[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4557-4558]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NOMINATION OF TERRENCE L. O'BRIEN

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from North Carolina and 
the Senator from Alaska for their courtesies. I appreciate this 
opportunity to speak on behalf of the circuit court judge who we will 
be voting on at 5:30 p.m.
  I am so pleased we are having this vote. I have known Terry O'Brien 
both personally and professionally for over

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22 years. I am proud of my association and friendship with him. It is 
not often that we get to vote on a close friend in this body.
  In a few minutes, I and my colleagues will have the opportunity to 
vote to confirm Terry O'Brien to serve on the Tenth Circuit. The Senate 
Judiciary Committee recognized that Terry is highly qualified to serve 
in this position when it unanimously voted him out of committee. While 
the committee members had an opportunity to review Terry's 
accomplishments and get to know him during his hearing, I would like to 
share some information about Terry with the rest of my colleagues.
  After Terry served as a captain in the U.S. Army and worked as an 
attorney at the Division of Land and Natural Resource in the Department 
of Justice, he came back to Wyoming to practice law in Buffalo at the 
law firm of Omohundro & O'Brien. Then in 1980, he was appointed to be a 
district judge for the Sixth Judicial District in Wyoming located in 
Gillette, WY. As a result, he moved to Gillette where he remained for 
22 years.
  Terry continued to be our judge until he retired from that position 2 
years ago. As mayor of Gillette, I had an opportunity to observe what 
the local district judge just down the street from my business was 
doing in the community. Believe me, those who came before him let me 
know what they thought, too. What I saw and people observed is that 
Terry had a no-nonsense, fair approach to the law and to the parties 
involved. He made his decisions based squarely on the law, the facts, 
and careful consideration, and he explained his reasons for what he was 
doing. Even if you were the party or the attorney who lost, you always 
knew where he stood because he took the time to be certain to explain 
his reasoning and rationale to you.
  My other observation is that Terry ran his court effectively, 
professionally, and efficiently. He never wasted anyone else's time nor 
let any of the parties or their attorneys waste each other's time, 
either.
  As to his decisions, they are not full of legal jargon or unnecessary 
words. Instead, he explains the law so everyone can understand it. To 
me, this makes him a very good judge and an exceptional writer.
  On a personal level, we have known each other over 22 years. We were 
in the same community for that time and watched each other's children 
grow up. Terry always cared about our community and made many 
contributions to it. One notable contribution is the 13 years he served 
as the president and a member of the board of directors of the Campbell 
County Health Care Foundation.
  But the most important thing I want to stress is the fact that I have 
gotten to know Terry both professionally and personally. I can give my 
personal assurance that our country will benefit from his many talents. 
I am confident he will be a stellar judge for the Tenth Circuit Court, 
and I am proud to make this recommendation to my colleagues in the 
Senate.
  He began his service to our country as a captain in the U.S. Army, 
and I hope you will help him to continue his service as a U.S. Tenth 
Circuit Court judge.
  I thank the Chair for this opportunity to talk about my friend, Terry 
O'Brien.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I know we are close to the voting time. I 
recommend to all of my friends in the Senate that we approve Judge 
O'Brien. Certainly, no one has been as qualified, as my colleague 
pointed out.
  In the appointment process, we had a committee sort through the judge 
prospects in our State, and they came up with Judge O'Brien as the 
judge they thought would be best qualified. I thank the committee for 
moving this matter along.
  He is one of the few circuit judges who has been approved, and we 
certainly look forward to his approval by the full Senate.
  Again, I recommend him without any question to be a circuit court 
judge in the Tenth Circuit.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I repeat for emphasis that we have the 
President of Finland in our midst today. She will be here to meet the 
Senators as they come in to vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair welcomes our guests.

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