[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17788-17789]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

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NOMINATION OF SAMUEL DER-YEGHIAYAN, OF ILLINOIS, TO BE A U.S. DISTRICT 
              JUDGE FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will go 
into executive session.
  The clerk will report the nomination.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, of 
Illinois, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of 
Illinois.
  Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. President, at 5:30 we are going to be voting on a 
nomination to the Federal bench for the northern district of Illinois. 
The nominee is Samuel Der-Yeghiayan from Vernon Hills, IL. Senator 
Durbin and I have recommended Samuel Der-Yeghiayan to President Bush, 
who has appointed Sam, and he has been confirmed out of the Senate 
Judiciary Committee. I will say a couple of words in support of his 
nomination.
  Since 1978, Mr. Der-Yeghiayan has worked in the United States 
Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service first as a 
trial attorney in Chicago, later as acting district director, acting 
trial appellate attorney, and for about 18 years the chief district 
counsel for the INS in Chicago. He has a very good reputation.
  Everyone, whether Republican or Democrat, from the many different 
communities in Chicago speaks very highly of Samuel Der-Yeghiayan. He 
has a very good reputation in legal circles in Illinois.
  Since the year 2000 he has been acting as an immigration review judge 
in the United States Department of Justice Executive Office for 
Immigration Review. Sam Der-Yeghiayan has his JD degree from Franklin 
Pierce Law Center in New Hampshire. He was on the Law Review at 
Franklin Pierce.
  There is an interesting aspect to Mr. Der-Yeghiayan's background that 
I think makes him somewhat unique. I am advised that he would be the 
first immigrant of Armenian descent ever to be named to the Federal 
bench. Mr. Der-Yeghiayan is himself an immigrant, having come to this 
country at an early age, and has done very well.
  I am very proud of his nomination. I believe he is a very fine man, 
has a wonderful family, and he will be a great asset to our Federal 
judiciary.
  I thank my colleagues and I thank Senator Durbin for his support for 
the nominee.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the nomination 
of Samuel Der-Yeghiayan to be United States District Judge for the 
Northern District of Illinois.
  Judge Der-Yeghiayan has contributed much to the legal community over 
his 25 year career, particularly in the area of immigration law. Upon 
graduation from Franklin Pierce Law Center, Judge Der-Yeghiayan joined 
the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney with the Immigration 
and Naturalization Service. After spending several years as a trial 
attorney, he was appointed District Counsel for the INS in Chicago, IL. 
In 2000, he became an immigration judge with the Department of 
Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review, the position in 
which he currently serves.
  Over the course of his career, Judge Der-Yeghiayan has represented 
the Government in deportation, exclusion, and other immigration-related 
hearings. He has handled issues relating to constitutional, labor, 
criminal, and administrative law arising from the enforcement of 
immigration laws. As a judge, he has presided over court proceedings 
and trials related to removal, deportation, exclusion, and asylum 
cases. He has also done a substantial amount of pro bono work educating 
congressional staff, State attorneys, bar associations, and law 
enforcement agents on immigration issues. In addition, as a judge, he 
provides training to pro bono immigration attorneys.
  I have every confidence that he will make an excellent Federal judge. 
I commend President Bush for nominating him, and I urge my colleagues 
to join me in supporting his nomination.
  Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, of Illinois, to be United States District 
Judge for the Northern District of Illinois? The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announced that the Senator from Utah (Mr. Bennett), 
the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions), the Senator from Oregon (Mr. 
Smith), and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mr. Sununu) are necessarily 
absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. 
Edwards), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Iowa 
(Mr. Harkin), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the Senator 
from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman), the Senator from Maryland (Ms. 
Mikulski), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Miller) are necessarily 
absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Iowa 
(Mr. Harkin) and the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would each 
vote ``yea''.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 89, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 275 Ex.]

                                YEAS--89

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--11

     Bennett
     Edwards
     Graham (FL)
     Harkin
     Kerry
     Lieberman
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Sessions
     Smith
     Sununu
  The nomination was confirmed.

    NOMINATION OF ROBERT C. BRACK TO BE U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE 
                         DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in 
order that I speak for 1 minute with reference to the nomination of 
Robert C. Brack, which is currently going to be accepted by the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. LEAHY. Reserving the right to object, and I shall not, as the 
manager of the legislation on the floor, I wonder if the Senator would 
mind, then, even though the normal order would be for the managers to 
go first--I have no objection to my more senior colleague going first--
that I be recognized immediately after the Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. I didn't know you wanted to speak. I saw the calendar 
said that he was going to be accepted.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator from New Mexico is recognized.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, in a couple moments the Senate will 
approve Robert C. Brack for district court judge of New Mexico. It is 
not always easy to find somebody, when you recommend them and they have 
finished this process and received, as in this case, full approval of 
the Democratic Senator--the committee approved them rather quickly--it 
is not always easy to find that kind of person.

[[Page 17789]]

And then secondly, it is not always easy to know that you have really 
got the right individual, that they are going to do justice to that 
terrific responsibility which is theirs for such a long period of time 
under our Constitution. But in this man's case, I am certain of both. I 
am certain he is as good as there is. Far be it for me to say he is the 
very best in New Mexico. Who knows that? But he is very good at the 
law.
  Secondly, after being good at law, he had a shot at being a judge, 
and he was a very good judge at the district court level where you have 
general jurisdiction. When you add all that together, you just feel 
good about it. And you can end up telling the Senate, thank you this 
evening in advance and the President, thank you for sending this man to 
New Mexico to become a district judge in our State.
  I yield the floor. If I offended or sought precedence over the 
distinguished Senator, I did not intend to. I apologize.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, there is no offense. I know no offense was 
meant and none was taken.
  As the distinguished senior Senator from New Mexico knows, he and I 
consulted at some length on this nomination, and I was happy to move 
forward. In fact, while the Senator is still on the floor, why don't we 
go ahead and pass the nomination. Then I will address the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, Executive Calendar No. 292 
is approved.
  The nomination was confirmed.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, with that confirmation of the New Mexican 
judge, the Senate will now have confirmed 135 judicial nominees of 
President Bush. These include 35 confirmed so far this year. I mention 
that number of 35 because I looked back to the third year of the last 
Presidential term--President Clinton's--when the Republicans controlled 
the Senate. They only allowed 34 judges to be confirmed in all of 1999. 
In fact, we have now confirmed more than twice the total number of 
judges confirmed in the 1996 session, when a Republican Senate majority 
refused to consider any circuit court nominees and confirmed only 17 
district court judges in that entire session.
  I mention that, Mr. President, because some believe this has become 
politicized. Well, maybe it was for 6 years, but it is not politicized 
now. We have actually reduced judicial vacancies to the lowest number 
in 13 years. Currently, there are more Federal judges on the bench than 
at any time in our history. We have confirmed 35 this year, and in the 
1996 session with President Clinton, the Republican Senate majority 
refused to consider any circuit court nominees and only confirmed 17 
district court judges during the whole session--half of what we have 
confirmed already.
  At a similar time in President Clinton's term--the third year of the 
term--they allowed 34 judges to be confirmed the whole year. We have 
done 35 so far. By every single standard, during the time when the 
Democrats were in the majority and now, we have confirmed far more 
judges at a far faster rate for President Bush than the Republican 
majority allowed during the time of President Clinton.
  I note that in the cases of both of today's nominees, the home State 
Senators include both a Republican and a Democrat Senator who supported 
the nomination; both worked for the nomination. Working with these home 
State Senators makes it far easier and makes the confirmation process 
proceed more smoothly.
  I congratulate the nominees confirmed today and the four Senators who 
came together in a bipartisan effort to get them through.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is 
laid upon the table and the President will be notified of the Senate's 
action.

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