[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 19946-19948]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

   NOMINATION OF EARL LEROY YEAKEL III OF TEXAS TO BE UNITED STATES 
            DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the hour of 5:20 
p.m. having arrived, the Senate will proceed to executive session for 
the consideration of Calendar No. 296, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Earl Leroy Yeakel III of 
Texas to be United States District Judge for the Western District of 
Texas.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 5 
minutes for debate equally divided between the Senator from Texas, Mrs. 
Hutchinson, and the Senator from Texas, Mr. Cornyn, and 5 minutes for 
debate for the Senator from Vermont, Mr. Leahy.
  Who yields time?
  The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, are we going to have back-to-back 
votes for Judge Cardone as well as Judge Yeakel, or do we talk about 
each judge before their individual votes?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will be back-to-back votes.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. President, I would like to speak on behalf of two Federal judge 
nominees for Texas. They are both for the Western District. Leroy 
Yeakel will sit in Austin; Kathleen Cardone will sit in El Paso, TX.
  The Western District has the highest caseload of any district on the 
list of districts where judicial emergencies exist. It has been the No. 
1 district in that regard. I am very pleased that we have two nominees 
to fill two benches in Austin and El Paso because we do need to be able 
to move these cases expeditiously. People are entitled to have their 
cases disposed of one way or another.
  I am proud to speak for Lee Yeakel who has been nominated for the 
Austin vacancy. He has served as a justice of the Texas Third Court of 
Appeals in Austin since 1998. Prior to that, he spent 29 years in 
private practice in Austin, most recently as a partner with the firm of 
Clark, Thomas & Winters.
  Lee earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at 
Austin in 1966 and his law degree from the University of Texas in 1969. 
He earned a master of law degree from the University of Virginia in 
2001.
  He is also very active in the community. He serves on the boards of 
the Austin Rotary Club, the West Austin Youth Association, the Austin 
Choral Union, and the Committee for Wild Basin Wilderness.
  I am very proud to know Lee Yeakel. I have known him for years. I 
have also known his wonderful wife Anne and their family. I am very 
pleased that the President nominated Lee Yeakel after Senator Cornyn 
and I recommended him. I know he will be a hard worker, and I know he 
will be an independent judge, one who looks at the law and decides 
cases based on the law and not based on his personal opinions. So I am 
pleased to recommend him to the Senate.
  Mr. President, I also recommend Kathleen Cardone for the judgeship in 
the Western District of Texas. She will be sitting in El Paso. Kathy is 
a New York native who graduated from the State University of New York 
at Binghamton and St. Mary's School of Law in San Antonio.
  After graduating from law school, Kathy clerked for a U.S. Magistrate 
for the Southern District of Texas, and then went into private 
practice.
  She has the distinction of serving as the first judge for the 388th 
Judicial District Court, a new State court created in El Paso in 1999. 
She developed and founded the El Paso County Domestic Relations Office. 
This office serves as an intermediary between courts and litigants in 
family law matters. She also presided over the 383rd Judicial District 
Court in El Paso.
  She has an excellent record of civic involvement. She is a member of 
the board of directors of the Upper Rio Grande Workforce Development 
Board and the El Paso Center for Family Violence. She is a past board 
member of the YWCA and the El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center. 
She has also been on the board of the El Paso Bar Foundation, the El 
Paso Mexican American Bar Association, and the Child Crisis Center of 
El Paso.
  I think you can see that both of these nominees meet the high 
standards that we hold for Federal judges, both having been active in 
their communities and being well regarded by the bar.
  I can say that both of these nominees were highly recommended by 
Democrats and Republicans and by their bar association membership. 
People who have worked with them recommend them highly, and I am very 
pleased with our nominations.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the nomination 
of Justice Earl Leroy Yeakel to be a U.S. District Court Judge for the 
Western District of Texas.
  Justice Yeakel has been a justice on the Texas Court of Appeals since 
1998. For 29 years prior to his judicial service he was engaged in 
private practice, litigating both civil and criminal matters at the 
trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts.
  While attending the University of Texas School of Law, he worked for 
the Austin law firm of Mitchell, Gilbert & McLean. Upon graduation in 
1969, he remained at the firm as an associate counsel, participating in 
a broad range of litigation-related work. Five years later, Justice 
Yeakel started his own firm, where he remained until his departure in 
1982. In the sixteen years that followed, he served as either an 
associate or partner in three prominent Austin law firms, litigating 
both civil and criminal matters at the trial and appellate level in 
state and federal courts.
  Justice Yeakel has proven himself to be a distinguished legal 
scholar, author, practitioner and judge. He enjoys bi-partisan support 
and I am confident he will make an excellent federal judge. I commend 
President Bush for nominating Justice Yeakel and urge my colleagues to 
join me in supporting this nomination.
  Mr. President, I am also in support of the nomination of Kathleen 
Cardone to be a U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of 
Texas.
  Since 1983, Judge Cardone has served as a state judge in El Paso 
County, TX, on numerous courts, including a municipal court, a family 
law court, and multiple state district courts. In addition to her 
judicial duties, she has worked as a trained mediator, as well as a 
teacher of an introductory law course at the El Paso Community College.
  After graduating from St. Mary's School of Law in 1979, Judge Cardone 
worked for one year as a briefing attorney for Philip Schraub, a United 
States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Texas. Following 
this judicial clerkship, she entered private practice, handling an 
array of cases involving civil, criminal and family law matters.
  Judge Cardone has proven herself to be a distinguished legal scholar, 
author, practitioner and judge. She enjoys bipartisan support and I am 
confident he will make an excellent federal judge. I commend President 
Bush for nominating Judge Cardone and urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this nomination.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator for Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today the Senate will confirm another two 
judicial nominees, bringing the total number of judicial nominees sent 
by President Bush to be confirmed to 140. With today's vote, the number 
of judicial nominees confirmed this year alone climbs to 40. That 
exceeds the number of judges during all of 2000, 1999, and 1997, and is 
more than twice as many judges as were confirmed during the entire 1996 
session. It is more than the average annual confirmations for the 6\1/
2\ years the Republican majority controlled the pace of confirmations 
from 1995 through the first half of 2001. Thus, in the first 7 months 
of this year, we have already exceeded the year totals for 4 of the 6 
years the Republican majority controlled the pace of President

[[Page 19947]]

Clinton's judicial nominees and the Republican majority's yearly 
average.
  Indeed with the confirmation of this 140th judge, the Senate has now 
confirmed in 2 years, from July 20, 2001 to July 28, 2003, more judges 
for President Bush than it was willing to consider during any 3-year 
period in which President Clinton's nominees were being considered by a 
Senate Republican majority.
  A good way to see how much faster we are proceeding on judicial 
nominations for a Republican President than Republican Senators were 
willing to proceed for a Democratic President is to compare where we 
are on this date over the last several years. Over the last 6\1/2\ 
years of Republican control under President Clinton, the Republicans 
allowed only 20 judicial confirmations, on average, by July 28, and 
included only 4 circuit court nominees, on average, by this time. Today 
we will have doubled those benchmarks with the confirmation of the 39th 
and 40th judicial nominees, which have included 10 circuit court 
judges. The double standard that Republicans have used in their 
treatment of judicial nominees is evident from this chart.
  On this day, in 1995, only 32 judicial nominations had been 
confirmed; in 1996, only 14; in 1997, only 9; in 1998 the confirmations 
totaled 33; in 1999, only 9; and in 2000 the confirmation total by this 
point of the year was 35. Today, we confirm the 40th judge so far this 
year. Vacancies in the courts stand at less than half of what they were 
during the Clinton years and we have more Federal judges serving than 
ever before.
  We have already this year confirmed 10 judges to the Courts of 
Appeals. This is more than were confirmed in all of 4 of the past 6 
years when the Republicans were in the majority--in 1996, 1997, 1999, 
and 2000. And in the 2 other years, the Tenth Circuit nominee was not 
confirmed until much later in the year.
  Today, the Senate confirms Earl Lee Yeakel and Kathleen Cardone to 
the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Judge Yeakel 
has been serving on the Texas Court of Appeals since 1998, appointed by 
then-Governor Bush. Judge Cardone has served as a State court judge on 
different courts throughout the El Paso area since 1990. Both were just 
nominated on May 1, their paperwork was not complete until June, and 
they are being confirmed just a month later. This is another sign of 
how fair the Democrats have been to this President's nominees.
  The Judiciary Committee has already held hearings for 6 of President 
Bush's nominees for the Western District of Texas alone and for 13 of 
President Bush's district court nominees from the State of Texas. Eight 
of those judges were given hearings and confirmed during the 17 months 
I served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. That was nearly one 
judge for Texas every other month, in addition to the four United 
States Attorneys and three United States Marshals who were reviewed and 
confirmed in that period of time.
  As I have noted throughout the last 3 years, the Senate is able to 
move expeditiously when we have consensus nominees. Unfortunately, far 
too many of this President's nominees have records that raise serious 
concerns about whether they will be fair judges to all parties on all 
issues.
  Mr. President, I reserve the remainder of my time.
  How much time do I have remaining on this side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Seventeen seconds.
  Mr. LEAHY. How much time is available to the other side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Fifty-five seconds.
  Mr. LEAHY. I yield back my time.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I would like to briefly respond to the 
remarks of my democratic colleague on the state of the judicial 
nominations process.
  We have heard a lot of statistics batted around about judicial 
confirmations. Some of them are accurate, some of them are dubious, but 
one of the more misleading ones I have heard is the claim that the 
score on President Bush's judicial nominees is 140 to 2. This is hardly 
the score.
  First, there are more Federal appellate vacancies today, 18, during 
President Bush's third year in office, than there were at the end of 
former President Clinton's second year in office, 15. Almost one-third 
of President Bush's Federal court nominees have not been confirmed. 
There are 68 total vacancies on the Federal district and appellate 
benches, 32 of which are classified as judicial emergencies. We have 
worked to do, and we will continue to fill those vacancies. No raw 
number of confirmations means anything, in and of itself, while there 
are not one, but two filibusters of exemplary nominees going on now, 
potentially more to come, and emergency vacancies continued to exist. 
Are we supposed to be grateful that only a few of President Bush's 
nominees are being filibustered? Is there an acceptable filibuster 
percentage that the Democratic leadership has in mind? The mere fact 
that we have to ask these questions makes it crystal clear that we have 
a broken process. Even one filibuster of a judicial nominee is one too 
many.
  As for the allegation that two nominees have been defeated, well, I 
for one would not be as quick as some of my Democratic colleagues to 
declare that the nominations of Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen have 
been defeated. We will continue to fight for the confirmation of these 
nominees and continue to file for cloture on their nominations. They 
are exemplary nominees who deserve to be confirmed.
  And as for the implication that it is somehow acceptable to 
filibuster two judicial nominees in light of the others that have been 
confirmed, I must ask my Democratic colleagues who are leading these 
filibusters: Would you ever argue that it is permissible to break two 
criminal laws just as long as all the rest are being followed? Of 
course not. Nobody would make that argument any more then they would 
argue that it is permissible to disregard two of the constitutional 
amendments that comprise our Bill of Rights simply because there are 
eight others. The confirmation of other Bush judicial nominees in no 
way excuses or justifies the shabby treatment inflicted on Miguel 
Estrada and Priscilla Owen.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I join the senior Senator from Texas, Mrs. 
Hutchison, in commending to the Members of the body the nominations of 
Judge Lee Yeakel and Judge Kathleen Cardone. Both of these nominees are 
outstanding examples of the highly qualified nominees that President 
Bush has sent to this body for consideration and confirmation. They 
deserve these appointments. I have every confidence they will serve 
with distinction. I am proud of what they represent and the potential 
they have as well.
  In the couple seconds I have remaining, I would like to respond to 
the ranking member's statements about how many judicial nominees this 
body has confirmed of those who have been sent by President Bush. I 
commend him and this entire body for confirming the number of judicial 
nominees that we have. But, frankly, two unconstitutional filibusters 
is two too many.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  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 question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Earl Leroy Yeakel III, of Texas, to be United States District Judge 
for the Western District of Texas?
  The clerk will call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. 
Bunning) and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Domenici) are necessarily 
absent.
  I further announce that if present and voting the Senator from 
Kentucky (Mr. Bunning) would vote ``yea''.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Bingaman), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from North 
Carolina

[[Page 19948]]

(Mr. Edwards), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the Senator 
from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. 
Lieberman), and the Senator from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow) are 
necessarily absent.
  I further announce that if present and voting the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) and the Senator from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow) 
would each vote ``yea''.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. (Mr. Graham of South Carolina). Are there any 
other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 91, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 307 Ex.]

                                YEAS--91

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

                             NOT VOTING--9

     Bingaman
     Bunning
     Clinton
     Domenici
     Edwards
     Kerry
     Landrieu
     Lieberman
     Stabenow
  The nomination was confirmed.

                          ____________________