[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2935-2938]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

  NOMINATION OF LAWRENCE JOSEPH O'NEILL TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT 
              JUDGE FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

 NOMINATION OF VALERIE L. BAKER TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR 
                   THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

NOMINATION OF GREGORY KENT FRIZZELL TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 
                 FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to consider en bloc the following nominations, which the clerk 
will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Lawrence Joseph O'Neill, 
of California, to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern 
District of California;
  Valerie L. Baker, of California, to be a United States District Judge 
for the Central District of California; and
  Gregory Kent Frizzell, of Oklahoma, to be a United States District 
Judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 10 
minutes for debate on the nominations, equally divided between the 
Senator from Vermont, Mr. Leahy, and the Senator from Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Specter, or their designees.
  The Senator from Pennsylvania is recognized.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I thank the Chair. I spoke briefly a few 
moments ago about these nominees. They all have excellent academic 
records and professional records, and they have been examined by the 
investigative authorities and have been reviewed by the Judiciary 
Committee. They have been passed out unanimously by the Judiciary 
Committee for confirmation. All have been evaluated ``well qualified'' 
by the American Bar Association, and I urge my colleagues to support 
all of these nominees.
  That pretty well summarizes, Mr. President. So in the absence of any 
Senator seeking recognition, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative 
clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                 Nomination of Lawrence Joseph O'neill

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, it is my pleasure to support Judge 
Lawrence O'Neill's nomination to the Eastern District of California.
  His confirmation would help to alleviate a judicial emergency in the 
Eastern District of California.
  The Fresno Division, to which Judge O'Neill is nominated, is 
suffering from a particularly acute overload of cases.
  Judge Anthony Ishii and Senior Judge Oliver Wanger are currently the 
only judges on the Fresno Division of the Eastern District. Their 
average caseload is the highest in the Nation.
  The people of Fresno and the Eastern District truly need the help 
that Judge O'Neill will provide.
  Fortunately, Judge O'Neill is uniquely qualified to step in and offer 
immediate relief to the Eastern District because he has been a 
magistrate judge in the District since 1999.
  In addition, for the last 17 years, Judge O'Neill has been a judge in 
California, spending 10 years as a superior

[[Page 2936]]

court judge in Fresno before becoming a magistrate.
  He is a homegrown Californian. He was born in Oakland, CA, and 
attended school in California. He received a bachelor's degree in 
criminology from the University of California, Berkeley, a master's 
degree in public education from Golden Gate University, and a law 
degree from Hastings College of Law.
  Before attending law school, he was a police officer for the city of 
San Leandro. I believe this additional perspective will prove an asset 
on the bench.
  I was pleased to learn that the American Bar Association unanimously 
declared Judge O'Neill to be ``well qualified,'' the ABA's highest 
rating.
  In California, we have developed a bipartisan process for selecting 
Federal district court nominees. Under this system, a committee of 
lawyers, including Democrats and Republicans, recommends qualified 
applicants to the President.
  The fact that Judge O'Neill's nomination was a product of this 
commission gives me confidence that he comes to the bench without an 
ideological agenda and is prepared to serve all the people of 
California.


                     NOMINATION OF VALERIE L. BAKER

  Mr. President, it is my pleasure to support Judge Valerie Baker, a 
distinguished nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Central 
District of California.
  The Central District of California, based in Los Angeles, is the 
largest and busiest Federal judicial district in the Nation. Judge 
Baker would be a welcome addition to this important court.
  Judge Baker has been a trial court judge on the Los Angeles County 
Superior Court for nearly 20 years and previously served on Los Angeles 
Municipal Court.
  In 1994, she was awarded the Alfred J. McCourtney Trial Judge of the 
Year Award from the Consumer Lawyers of Los Angeles.
  Judge Baker is also a seasoned litigator, with Federal experience in 
criminal and civil cases. With the law firm of Lillick, McHose & 
Charles she specialized in Federal business litigation and antitrust 
law. As an assistant U.S. attorney, Judge Baker prosecuted bank 
robberies, major drug violations, and fraudulent enterprises.
  At the University of California at Santa Barbara, she earned a 
bachelor of arts degree and a master's degree in English, and she 
received a law degree from UCLA.
  Off the bench, Judge Baker has devoted herself to charities helping 
the Los Angeles community.
  As a board member of the UCLA Law School Alumni Association, she 
chaired a committee to recruit qualified minority students. She also 
served on the board of a non-profit shelter for homeless teenagers and 
sat on the board of directors of the Braille Institute of Los Angeles.
  The American Bar Association has given Judge Baker a unanimous ``well 
qualified'' rating, the Association's highest mark.
  I am proud of the bipartisan process for selecting Federal district 
court nominees that we have developed in California. Under this system, 
a committee of lawyers, including Democrats and Republicans, recommends 
qualified applicants to the President.
  Judge Baker came through this committee, which gives me confidence 
that she comes to the bench without an ideological agenda and is 
prepared to serve all the people of California.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today the Senate continues to make 
significant progress in its consideration of judicial nominations. The 
Senate will consider and, I believe, confirm the nominations of 
Lawrence Joseph O'Neill for the Eastern District of California, Valerie 
L. Baker for Central District of California, and Gregory Kent Frizzell 
for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
  When they are confirmed, the Senate will have granted its consent to 
263 of President Bush's nominations for lifetime appointments to our 
Federal courts. Moreover, with these three confirmations today, we will 
have confirmed more of President Bush's nominations in the 18 months I 
have served as Judiciary Committee chairman with a Democratic majority 
in the Senate than in the more than 2 years when Senator Hatch chaired 
the committee with a Republican Senate majority or during the last 
Congress with a Republican Senate majority. This is the 105th 
confirmation during my time as Judiciary chairman.
  I know some on the other side of the aisle have tried to raise a 
scare since I, again, became chairman of the Judiciary Committee. They 
rant as if the sky is falling and we would not proceed on any judicial 
nominations. We have proceeded promptly and efficiently. Last Thursday, 
the Judiciary Committee held its first business meeting of the year. We 
might have met earlier but for the delay in organizing the Senate from 
January 4, when this session first began, until the Republican caucus 
finally agreed to the resolutions assigning Members to Senate 
committees on January 12.
  The three nominations we consider today were among the five 
nominations for lifetime appointments Federal judges that I included on 
the agenda at our first meeting. Like the two judges confirmed on 
Tuesday, Judge O'Neill's nomination is for a vacancy that has been 
designated a judicial emergency by the Administrative Office of the 
U.S. Courts. All five were among those returned to the President 
without Senate action at the end of last year when Republican Senators 
objected to proceeding with certain nominees in September and December 
last year.
  Before proceeding, I inquired of each member of the committee whether 
a hearing was requested on these nominations this year. I, again, thank 
all, members of the Judiciary Committee for working with me to expedite 
consideration of these nominations this year. In particular, I extend 
thanks to our new members, the Senators from Maryland and Rhode Island.
  These nominations were not even sent to the Senate until January 9. 
They were considered by the committee in a little over 2 weeks and are 
being approved by the Senate in a little over 3 weeks from their 
nomination.
  I have worked cooperatively with Members from both sides of the aisle 
on our committee and in the Senate to move quickly to consider and 
report judicial nominations so that we can fill vacancies and improve 
the administration of justice in our Nation's Federal courts. I 
appreciate the interests of Senator Chambliss and Senator Isaakson in 
the confirmation of Judge Wood, the first judge confirmed this year. 
Likewise, I was pleased to be able to respond to the needs of Senator 
Inhofe and Senator Coburn by expediting consideration of Judge 
Frizzell. I thank Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer of California for 
their efforts on some of these nominations and for working to fill the 
vacancies in California.
  I have long urged the President to fill vacancies with consensus 
nominees. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts list 57 judicial 
vacancies, 28 of them have been deemed to be judicial emergencies. So 
far this Congress, the President has yet to send us nominees for 17 of 
those judicial emergency vacancies.
  I have also scheduled a confirmation hearing for next week for 
additional judicial nominees and another business meeting at which the 
committee may consider still more judicial nominations. When a 
Republican chaired the committee in 1999 and there was a Democratic 
President, the first hearing on a judicial nominee was not held until 
June 16. We intend to hold a hearing on February 6.
  I had initially thought that we would include the nomination of 
Norman Randy Smith of Idaho to the Ninth Circuit at that hearing next 
week. However, with the cooperation of the Senators from California and 
the members of the Judiciary Committee, I now hope to be able to avoid 
another hearing on the Smith nomination.
  I was pleased when the White House changed course and nominated Randy 
Smith for the Idaho seat on the Ninth Circuit. I had urged President 
Bush to take this action last year when he insisted on resubmitting the 
Smith nomination for a California seat on the Ninth Circuit. I thank 
the President

[[Page 2937]]

for finally doing the right thing. I will urge the Senate to confirm 
his nomination of Randy Smith to the vacant seat on the Ninth Circuit 
from Idaho. At long last Senator Craig and Senator Crapo will then have 
a judge on that important court from their home State.
  Each of the nominees we consider today has the support of home State 
Senators.
  Lawrence Joseph O'Neill is nominated to the U.S. District Court for 
the Eastern District of California, another seat deemed to be a 
judicial emergency by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. He 
is a well-qualified nominee who has over 15 years of experience on the 
bench, seven of them as a magistrate judge on the district court to 
which he is now nominated. Before becoming a magistrate judge, Judge 
O'Neill spent 9 years as a Fresno County superior court judge and, 
before that, a decade in private practice. Judge O'Neill will bring a 
valuable perspective to the Federal bench, having served as a police 
officer for 5 years in the city of San Leandro, CA. He graduated from 
law school at the University of California, Hastings and then clerked 
for Judge Robert F. Kane on the California Court of Appeals.
  Valerie L. Baker, who is nominated to the U.S. District Court for the 
Central District of California, already has over 20 years of experience 
on the bench. As a Los Angeles County municipal and then superior court 
judge, she has handled thousands of cases and has been the recipient of 
the Alfred J. McCourtney Trial Judge of the Year Award by Consumer 
Lawyers of Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA Law School, Judge 
Baker served as an assistant U.S. attorney and as a commercial 
litigator in private practice. Judge Baker was rated unanimously well 
qualified by the American Bar Association and has the support of both 
her home State Democratic Senators.
  As a courtesy to Senator Inhofe, I included the nomination of Gregory 
Kent Frizzell on the agenda for Judiciary Committee's first executive 
business meeting last week. I was glad to see Senator Inhofe say that 
he was ``pleased with the committee action'' and that Judge Frizell was 
``fast-tracked through.'' Judge Frizzell is nominated to the U.S. 
District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He has a decade 
of experience on the bench as an Oklahoma district judge in Tulsa 
County. In his 23 years as a lawyer, Judge Frizzell has served as 
general counsel to the Oklahoma Tax Commission and tried more than 25 
cases in private practice as a sole practitioner and an attorney at 
Jones, Givens, Gotcher & Bogan, P.C., representing community colleges, 
insurance companies, and other businesses. After graduating from the 
University of Tulsa and the University of Michigan Law School, Judge 
Frizzell served as a law clerk to Judge Thomas R. Brett on the court to 
which he has now been nominated.
  I congratulate the nominees and their families on their confirmations 
today. We continue to make progress towards filling longstanding 
judicial vacancies. I intend to do what I can to ensure that the 
Federal judiciary remains independent and able to provide justice to 
all Americans.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time be 
yielded back and the vote begin.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.


           Vote on the Nomination of Lawrence Joseph O'Neill

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of Lawrence Joseph O'Neill, of California, to 
be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California?
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye) and 
the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senator was necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Virginia (Mr. Warner).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Whitehouse). Are there any other Senators 
in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 0, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 40 Ex.]

                                YEAS--97

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Inouye
     Johnson
     Warner
  The nomination was confirmed.


                 Vote on Nomination of Valerie L. Baker

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, regarding the Baker of California 
nomination, we are perfectly willing to have a voice vote. I understand 
the Senators from Oklahoma want to have a recorded vote on Frizzell. 
Valerie Baker is next on the list.
  I yield back the remaining time.
  Mr. SPECTER. We yield back the remaining time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of Valerie L. Baker, of California, to be 
United States District Judge for the Central District of California?
  The nomination was confirmed.


              Vote on Nomination of Gregory Kent Frizzell

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont is recognized.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the Gregory 
Frizzell nomination.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I yield back whatever time we have 
remaining on this side.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is all time yielded back?
  The Senator from Oklahoma is recognized.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I was honored a few minutes ago to talk 
about this very outstanding young man, Greg Frizzell. Unfortunately, as 
the senior Senator from Vermont knows, we tried our best to get him in 
last year. We were unable to do it. But thanks to him and helping us to 
expedite the confirmation of this fine young man, we will be voting 
now.
  This gentleman comes from a background that is unusual and unique. I 
know of no one who has said anything negative about him in our State of 
Oklahoma. So I think justice will be served with the confirmation of 
Greg Frizzell for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
  I am proud to stand here today in support of Judge Greg Frizzell's 
nomination to be the U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of 
Oklahoma. After his Judiciary Committee hearing in September, I was 
certain that he would be confirmed before the end of the year. However, 
due to some regrettable political wrangling, his nomination was 
stalled.
  Fortunately, over the past few weeks, I have spoken to my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle to help expedite Judge Frizzell through the 
committee process and bring his nomination to the Senate floor. I am 
convinced that he is the most capable and well-qualified person for 
this position.

[[Page 2938]]

  His family is no stranger to the legal field--I can remember his 
father, Kent Frizzell. He served as attorney general for the State of 
Kansas--that is when I first got to know his family. Later on, when 
they moved to Oklahoma, we became very close friends.
  He has had all kinds of experience in the past--serving the Under 
Secretary of Interior, and he has taught at the University of Tulsa Law 
School for almost 20 years. So given his father's distinguished work, 
it is no surprise that Judge Frizzell felt compelled to pursue a career 
in public service, and his friends and colleagues have praised his 
professional qualifications and personal integrity, as well as his 
ability to rule fairly from the bench.
  Someone who has been around as long as this young judge has been 
around, you would think you would hear negative things--I have never 
heard anything negative about him. Robert Sartin, member of the board 
of governors of the Oklahoma Bar Association said, ``Judge Frizzell is 
a man of extremely good character and high integrity, with a deep sense 
of personal responsibility toward his fellow man.'' Judge Claire Egan, 
praised him and talked about the urgency to fill vacant spots on the 
bench--she emphasized the fact that the court right now has three 
judges doing the work of six.
  One of the prominent and well-respected attorneys in Oklahoma, Joel 
Wohlgemuth of a distinguished law firm in Tulsa, called Judge Frizzell 
``a man of integrity and a straight arrow''.
  Before serving in the current position of District Judge of the 14th 
Judicial District of Oklahoma, Greg Frizzell had a long and 
distinguished legal career and ample Federal experience. After 
graduating with a law degree from the University of Michigan, he 
clerked for Judge Tom Brett--Tom Brett is now in retirement and there 
is no one who has a better reputation than he, and he has praised Greg 
Frizzell time and time again. Ralph Thompson, a prominent senior judge 
serving on the Federal bench in Oklahoma, has also praised him.
  After clerking for Judge Brett, Frizzell became an associate at an 
Oklahoma law firm and then ran his own private legal practice until he 
was selected to be general counsel to the Oklahoma Tax Commission. 
After serving for a period of time at the Tax Commission, he was then 
appointed to his current position as Judge of the 14th District of 
Oklahoma.
  Not only has Judge Frizzell proven an effective and fair legal 
professional, he is a devoted husband and loving father of six 
children.
  Getting back again to Mr. Wohlgemuth, he recalls an incident where 
Judge Frizzell, had to work late one night doing work and he brought 
all six kids to spend time with them into the late hours--anyone who 
can handle six kids while doing his judicial work, I think can handle 
this job.
  So, Judge Frizzell is a man of great moral integrity who has proven 
his character in both his private and public life. I cannot say enough 
about him and his qualifications to be the next U.S. District Court 
Judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma and I urge my colleagues to 
confirm his nomination.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania is recognized.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, a brief comment on Gregory Frizzell. He 
was born in Wichita, KS, which is a great note of distinction, being it 
is my birthplace. I debated against his father in high school. So I 
have a little more enthusiasm in asking my colleagues to support his 
confirmation.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of Gregory Kent Frizzell, of Oklahoma, to be 
United States District Judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma?
  The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. 
Johnson) is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 99, nays 0, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 41 Ex.]

                                YEAS--99

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Johnson
       
  The nomination was confirmed
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motions to 
reconsider the votes on the nominations are considered made and laid on 
the table, and the President will be immediately notified of the 
Senate's action.

                          ____________________