[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5856-5858]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 NOMINATION OF SARA ELIZABETH LIOI TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 
                   FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the nomination.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Sara Elizabeth Lioi, of 
Ohio, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of 
Ohio.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today we consider the nomination of Sara 
Elizabeth Lioi for a lifetime appointment to a seat on the Northern 
District of Ohio. Hers will be the tenth judicial nomination for a 
lifetime appointment to the Federal courts that the Senate has already 
considered this year.
  Judge Lioi has spent nearly 10 years on the Stark County Court of 
Common Pleas. I am sure Senator Voinovich, who appointed her to the 
bench when he was Governor of Ohio, will welcome her confirmation. I 
thank Senator Brown for expediting his consideration of this 
nomination. This process works best when the White House consults with 
Senators from both sides of the aisle.
  Judge Lioi received her B.A. from Bowling Green State University in 
1983, where she graduated summa cum laude, and her J.D. from Ohio State 
University College of Law in 1987. She worked in private practice with 
Day, Ketterer, Raley, Wright & Rybolt Ltd. in Canton, OH, upon 
graduation from law school. Her practice included appellate and trial 
litigation and service as special counsel to Stark State College of 
Technology. She was elected a principal of her law firm in 1993 and 
stayed there until Governor Voinovich appointed her to the bench in 
1997. Judge Lioi has been active in the judicial and legal community, 
serving on a statewide Board of Commissioners on

[[Page 5857]]

Character and Fitness, the Supreme Court's Board of Commissioners on 
Grievances and Discipline, and the Supreme Court of Ohio Task Force on 
Rules of Professional Conduct.
  With Judge Lioi's confirmation, we will have confirmed all the 
district court nominees left pending on the Senate's Executive Calendar 
at the end of the last Congress when Republican holds prevented us from 
confirming them all. We have worked hard to expedite these nominations 
through the committee and the Senate this year. I thank particularly 
the new Members for allowing us to proceed so quickly and congratulate 
Judge Lioi and her family on her confirmation today.
  We have now proceeded with 10 confirmations even though the President 
did not renominate Judge Janet Neff for one of the many emergency 
vacancies that plague the Western District of Michigan. Last year the 
Senators from Michigan had worked with the White House and the 
President had proceeded to nominate her. The Democratic members of the 
committee cooperated to expedite her consideration along with others. 
Last September 16, we held a confirmation hearing for her and other 
nominees on an expedited basis and the committee sent them to the 
Senate without a single objection on September 29.
  Regrettably, rather than meet to work out a process to conclude the 
consideration of judicial nominations last session, the Republican 
leadership of the Senate stalled these nominations and, in particular, 
the President's nomination of Judge Janet Neff. After the Senate 
session in October, I learned that several Republicans were objecting 
to Senate votes on some of President Bush's judicial nominees. 
According to press accounts, Senator Brownback had placed a hold on 
Judge Neff's nomination, even though he raised no objection to her 
nomination when she was unanimously reported out of Judiciary 
Committee. He later sent questions to Judge Neff about her attendance 
at a commitment ceremony held by some family friends several years ago 
in Massachusetts. Senator Brownback spoke of these matters and his 
concerns on one of the Sunday morning talk shows.
  Could it really be that Judge Neff's attendance at a commitment 
ceremony of a family friend failed some Republican litmus test of 
ideological purity, that her lifetime of achievement and qualifications 
were to be ignored, and that her nomination was to be pocket 
filibustered by Republicans?
  I do not know why the President has not chosen to renominate Judge 
Neff. The situation in the Western District of Michigan is quite dire. 
Judge Robert Holmes Bell, Chief Judge of the Western District, wrote to 
me and to others about the situation in that district, where several 
judges on senior status--one over 90 years old--continue to carry heavy 
caseloads. Judge Bell is the only active judge. Senator Brownback, who 
raised concern about the burdens falling on senior judges in his home 
State, should be sensitive to the dire situation in the Western 
District of Michigan exacerbated by his hold.
  I have long urged the President to fill vacancies with consensus 
nominees, particularly for those determined to be judicial emergencies. 
According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, after Judge 
Lioi's confirmation, there will remain 50 judicial vacancies, 25 of 
which--more than half--have been deemed to be judicial emergency 
vacancies. Of those 25 judicial emergency vacancies, the President has 
yet to send us nominees for 17 of them. That means two-thirds of the 
judicial emergency vacancies are without a nominee from the President. 
That includes the judicial emergency vacancy that Judge Neff should 
have filled months ago but for another Republican pocket filibuster.
  Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of my time. I see the 
ranking member on the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio is recognized.
  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, thank you for allowing me to speak on 
behalf of a very deserving person from the State of Ohio, as the Senate 
considers her nomination to the Federal bench. I am here to express my 
strong support for Judge Sara Lioi, who the President has nominated to 
serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
  Judge Lioi has a distinguished and impressive record as an attorney 
in private practice, as an Ohio Court of Common Pleas Judge, and as a 
community leader in Stark County, Ohio, where she has deep roots.
  A native of Stark County, Judge Lioi graduated from GlenOak High 
School and from Bowling Green State University, where she graduated 
summa cum laude and earned the distinction of Phi Beta Kappa.
  Later, Judge Lioi went on to attend my law school alma mater, the 
Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University, receiving her law 
degree in 1987. After graduating from law school, Judge Lioi joined the 
law firm of Day, Ketterer, the oldest law firm in Stark County, Ohio, 
as an associate. Judge Lioi was later recognized by her colleagues when 
they elected her to the firm's partnership in 1993.
  As an attorney, she represented individuals, schools, and other 
institutions of higher learning, cities, small businesses, and 
multinational corporations. While in private practice, she represented 
clients at both the trial and appellate levels.
  In November 1997, when I was Governor, I appointed Judge Lioi to fill 
a vacancy on the Stark County Common Pleas Court. Since then, Stark 
County voters have twice reelected her.
  Since ascending to the bench, Judge Lioi has disposed of over 9,500 
cases and conducted over 350 trials, over 335 of which were jury 
trials. In sum, she has broad courtroom experience, both on and off the 
bench. This extensive experience will serve her well as a Federal trial 
court judge.
  Judge Lioi has also earned the respect of her colleagues and fellow 
attorneys. During her time as a practicing attorney, she served on the 
Supreme Court of Ohio Board of Commissioners on Grievances and 
Discipline, and for over 10 years, Judge Lioi has served on the Supreme 
Court of Ohio Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness, 
including the last 5 as the Chair of this Commission.
  I believe her service on these important commissions evidences the 
high esteem in which members of the Ohio bar hold her, and is testimony 
of her excellent character.
  Judge Lioi's legal credentials are not the only reasons I support her 
nomination. Today, too many people do not take the time to become 
involved in their communities; however, Judge Lioi remains involved in 
a number of civic organizations. A graduate of Leadership Stark County, 
she has remained active with that program, as well as other not-for-
profit community agencies, including Community Services of Stark 
County, Stark County Humane Society, Walsh University Advisory Board, 
and the Plain Local Schools Foundation. We need judges who not only 
have exceptional legal skills, but who also recognize how the law 
impacts individuals and communities, and involvement in one's community 
facilitates this understanding. Judge Lioi has this understanding 
because she is participating in her community every day.
  As a result of Judge Lioi's fine academic and professional 
achievements, I am not surprised that the American Bar Association 
unanimously found her well-qualified to serve as a Federal district 
court judge.
  In reviewing Judge Lioi's academic and professional record, it is 
clear that she is well-qualified to serve as a judge on the U.S. 
District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and I urge my 
colleagues to vote to approve her nomination to the Federal bench.
  Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of my time.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am willing to have a voice vote if nobody 
wants a rollcall vote.
  Mr. VOINOVICH. I agree that we can have a voice vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired. The question is, Will 
the Senate advise and consent to the nomination of Sara Elizabeth Lioi, 
of Ohio, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District 
of Ohio.

[[Page 5858]]

  The nomination was confirmed.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. LEVIN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the President will 
be notified of the Senate's actions.

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