[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13419]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  NOMINATION OF WALTER D. KELLEY, JR.

  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, soon we will be voting on the nomination of 
Walter DeKalb Kelley, Jr., to be a Federal judge for the U.S. District 
Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. My colleague, Senator 
Warner, and I know him as Walt. We very much support his nomination. I 
have known Walt Kelley for a long time now. He is one who continues to 
impress me as a gentleman. I have always found him to be even tempered, 
no matter the situation, no matter how fractious things might be. He 
always has a good, steady demeanor about him, which I think is an 
important attribute, especially for a trial judge.
  Senator Warner and I interviewed many outstanding nominees for this 
judgeship in the Eastern District of Virginia. The things I care about 
are experience, to the extent you can find somebody who has judicial 
experience. Also, when you look at their experience and talk about 
them, whether it is in the courtroom or what their beliefs are, it is 
important to figure out what their judicial philosophy might be.
  On the point of judicial philosophy, as a judge, Walt Kelley will be 
one who understands the proper role of the judiciary, in particular to 
adjudicate a case, applying the facts and evidence before the court, 
applying the law in the proper way, as opposed to a judge who might 
want to invent new law.
  As far as experience is concerned, while Walt Kelley has not served 
as a judge, he has a tremendous amount of experience in the courtroom, 
arguing and taking to final adjudication 25 cases in various Federal 
courts.
  He has been endorsed and supported by the Virginia Association of 
Defense Attorneys and the Virginia State Bar. The American Bar 
Association has also given Walt Kelley a unanimous opinion of ``well 
qualified.'' He is rated ``AV'' by Martindale-Hubbell. In addition, the 
Virginia Women Attorneys Association supports his nomination.
  He is an individual of great character, and he supports important 
aspects of the community in the Hampton Roads area. He is the chairman 
or the rector of the Board of Visitors at Old Dominion University in 
Norfolk. He is a trustee at Norfolk Collegiate School, where he 
attended, and his three children currently attend school. He is an 
adjunct professor in antitrust law at Regent University School of Law. 
He was on the Virginia Attorney General's Task Force on Higher 
Education, and he is also the director of the Hampton Roads Salvation 
Army Adult Rehabilitation Center Advisory Board, making sure folks are 
rehabilitated from being addicted to drugs, or using drugs, so they may 
become productive citizens.
  Walt Kelley is an outstanding individual. He has the experience, the 
temperament, and the right philosophy to be a judge in the Eastern 
District of Virginia for many decades to come. I look forward to voting 
for him and respectfully urge my colleagues to support the nomination 
of Walter Kelley to the United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of Virginia.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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