[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23542-23543]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

 NOMINATION OF MARCIA A. CRONE, OF TEXAS, TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT 
                                 JUDGE

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following 
nomination, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Marcia A. Crone, of 
Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of 
Texas.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, there are 
now 2 minutes for debate equally divided prior to the vote on the 
nomination.
  The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, it is my pleasure to speak in support 
of the confirmation of Judge Marcia Crone. She is a native of Dallas 
and alumna of the University of Texas. She will preside over a newly 
created seat in Beaumont where she has agreed she will make her home 
and stay for the duration of her term.
  I know she will serve with distinction. Judge Crone is currently a 
U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Texas serving in that 
capacity since 1992.
  Marcia was valedictorian of her high school, Hillcrest High School in 
Dallas, a National Merit Scholar, and the valedictorian of the 
University of Texas class of 1973. She also graduated first in her 
class from the University of Houston Law Center in 1978.
  Her outstanding educational accomplishments are also joined by 
accomplishments in her professional life. After graduating from law 
school, she joined the Houston-based firm Andrews & Kurth. Her 
specialities included product liability, breach of contract, oil and 
gas, and securities law. She became a partner in that firm where she 
remained until her appointment to the Federal bench.
  Mr. President, is there another minute, or am I the only speaker?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. One minute remains in opposition. 
The Senator's time has expired.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent, if there is 
no opposition, to take the final minute.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, as a U.S. Magistrate, Judge Crone has

[[Page 23543]]

presided over a number of civil and criminal cases, ranging from 
employment discrimination to pretrial arraignments and detention 
hearings in felony cases. In her more than 10 years on the Federal 
bench, she has authored approximately 700 opinions, over 130 of which 
are published. She is an active member of the Houston community and bar 
association. She serves on the board of directors of the Garland Walker 
Inn of Court and is a mentor to Houston area law school students. She 
is also active in her church.
  Marcia Crone meets the high standards to which we hold all Federal 
judges, and she has quite an impressive record. I am pleased that John 
Cornyn, the other Senator from Texas, joins me in supporting the 
nomination of Marcia Crone, and I urge our colleagues to join us.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am pleased to speak in support of Marcia 
Crone, who has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the 
Eastern District of Texas.
  Judge Crone received a bachelor of arts degree, summa cum laude, from 
the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a 4.0 grade point 
average and as valedictorian in 1973. She then graduated first in her 
class from the University of Houston Law Center in 1978, receiving a 
juris doctor degree, summa cum laude. After graduating from law school, 
she entered private practice, first as an associate and later as a 
partner at the law firm of Andrews & Kurth, L.L.P. During her years in 
private practice Judge Crone represented both individuals and 
corporations, litigating primarily in the areas of labor law, 
employment law, products liability, and commercial litigation.
  Judge Crone was appointed in 1992 as a Federal magistrate judge in 
the Southern District of Texas. She has presided over numerous trials 
in civil cases involving a wide range of issues, including securities 
fraud, employment discrimination, intellectual property rights, 
personal injury claims, contract disputes, admiralty, civil rights, 
insurance matters, social security appeals, and prisoner litigation. In 
her more than 10 years on the Federal bench, Judge Crone has authored 
approximately 700 opinions.
  Judge Crone devotes substantial amounts of time to programs mentoring 
students from the three local law schools, giving them the opportunity 
to serve as interns in her chambers, judging mock trial and moot court 
competitions, and participating annually in the American Bar 
Association's Minority Judicial Externship Program. She previously 
served on the board of directors of the southeast Texas Chapter of the 
National Multiple Sclerosis Society and has performed volunteer work 
for a local adoption agency.
  I have no doubt that Judge Crone's elevation to the district court 
will greatly benefit the Eastern District of Texas. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting her nomination.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I rise in support of the nomination of 
Judge Marcia A. Crone to serve as U.S. District Judge in the Beaumont 
Division of the Eastern District of Texas.
  Judge Crone is an outstanding nominee with a fine legal mind and fair 
judicial disposition. She has served as a U.S. magistrate judge in the 
Southern District of Texas since 1992. During her tenure on the Federal 
bench thus far, she has already authored approximately 700 opinions, 
over 130 of which are published. Prior to her service as a U.S. 
magistrate judge, she practiced law for 14 years.
  She is an active member of several legal organizations in the Houston 
area. She is a native Texan and a mother of two. And she is an active 
participant in her community. She is a member of the Chapelwood United 
Methodist Church, the Houston World Affairs Council, and the P.T.A. at 
Second Baptist School, and a former member of the board of directors of 
the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
  In short, Judge Crone is an outstanding nominee with solid 
credentials and a reputation of fairness and impartiality. I support 
her nomination, and look forward to her distinguished service on the 
bench of the Eastern District of Texas, where the citizens of Beaumont 
need her good legal judgment and wisdom.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. All time has expired. The question 
is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination of Marcia 
Crone, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern 
District of Texas?
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Alexander) and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Domenici) are 
necessarily absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), the 
Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin), the Senator from North Carolina 
(Mr. Edwards), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the Senator from 
Vermont (Mr. Jeffords), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) and 
the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``yea.''
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 91, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 369 Ex.]

                                YEAS--91

     Akaka
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     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
     Dorgan
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     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
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--9

     Alexander
     Biden
     Domenici
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Graham (FL)
     Jeffords
     Kerry
     Lieberman
  The nomination was confirmed.

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