[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8416-8417]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NOMINATION OF JUDGE ROBERT CONRAD

  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, anniversaries are usually a time of joy, a 
time to celebrate, a time to remember happy occasions in one's life. 
This weekend, my sons celebrated Mother's Day with my wife, their mom, 
Brooke. Many know this is the 100th anniversary of Mother's Day.
  Speaking of their mom, she and I will celebrate our 26th wedding 
anniversary this August. It is an anniversary that is very special, and 
it is something I intend to celebrate every day.
  But today we mark an anniversary that is more troubling than 
celebratory. Today marks the 300th day since Judge Robert Conrad was 
nominated to serve on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals--the 300th 
day. Judge Conrad was nominated in July 2007. It has been almost a 
year, and he still has yet to receive a hearing from the Judiciary 
Committee. Advise and consent. I don't think it said 300-plus days; it 
says advise and consent.
  This is an anniversary of which I personally am not quite proud and, 
quite frankly, of which the Senate should be ashamed. We are telling 
the American people we are unable to fulfill one of the most important 
responsibilities for which they elect us as Senators. We are telling 
the American people that we cannot follow through with our 
constitutional responsibility of advise and consent on Federal judges.
  I am not going to spend my time today pointing fingers and placing 
blame on one party or another. That would be a waste of everybody's 
time. I am here for quite the opposite reason. We need to encourage our 
fellow colleagues to better utilize our limited time left in this 
Congress and start confirming judges to the bench.
  The unfortunate reality is that our Federal bench is suffering and, 
most importantly, vacancies on the bench hurt the American people. I 
have often said there is no area of daily life that is not affected by 
judges. Judges make decisions every day that have a long-lasting and 
significant impact on the entirety of the American people.
  Unfortunately, our society has become so extremely comfortable with, 
if not aggressive about, filing lawsuits, and we must try to reduce 
that problem in and of itself. But in the meantime, we need to fill 
these lingering vacancies in order to give judges on the bench the help 
they desperately need to adjudicate their rapidly increasing caseloads.
  Today, we have a great opportunity for this Congress to stop pointing 
fingers, to stop placing blame, and reverse the dreadful trend of 
underperformance on Federal judges. I encourage my colleagues to rise 
above the bickering and come to an understanding that confirming judges 
should be about legal qualifications and experience.
  Judge Bob Conrad now waits for the 300th day for his nomination for a 
judiciary hearing. He is clearly qualified to serve on the Fourth 
Circuit Court of Appeals. It is almost impossible to think of a more 
qualified candidate. He has an excellent reputation as a knowledgeable 
and fair district court judge from the Western District of North 
Carolina.
  Bob has twice--twice--been confirmed by the Senate, once in 2001 to 
become U.S. attorney and once in 2005 to be a U.S. district court 
judge--a candidate that has been confirmed by this body twice who 
cannot even get a Judiciary Committee hearing.

[[Page 8417]]

  Bob received a unanimous--let me repeat that--a unanimous ``well 
qualified'' rating by the American Bar Association. Not every nominee 
receives a unanimous ``well qualified'' rating.
  Bob's nomination to the Fourth Circuit Court has been endorsed by the 
Charlotte Observer, the Asheville Citizen-Times, and the Charleston 
Post and Courier. It is not the papers keeping him out of office; it is 
the Senate and, specifically, the Judiciary Committee.
  Judge Conrad's nomination is also extremely important to North 
Carolina. My home State must get more representation on the Fourth 
Circuit Court. Our State has just one seated judge, even though we are 
the most populous State in the circuit.
  Judge Conrad has been nominated to the Fourth Circuit Court seat. 
This is a seat that has been vacant for 14 years. Let me say that 
again. This is a judicial seat that has been vacant for 14 years. This 
Senate cannot fulfill its obligations to put a judge on this bench. It 
is now a judicial emergency by the Administrative Office of the Courts.
  I could continue to list Judge Conrad's outstanding credentials and 
qualifications and, more importantly, why it is critical that he be 
confirmed to the Fourth Circuit Court, but really, this distinguished 
body could use a little less talk and a little more action. It is time 
to act on this nomination. It is time to give Judge Conrad a hearing 
and a vote on the Senate floor. He has been waiting patiently for over 
300 days, and that is inexcusable.
  Some may think they are helping their political party by blocking 
qualified Presidential nominees from being considered for the Federal 
bench, but what they are really hurting is our country and the American 
people. It is not just 1 or 2 of us or 100 U.S. Senators who suffer 
from this lack of progress, it is all of us.
  I remind all of my colleagues that they should not celebrate this 
300-day anniversary; they should act on it, they should act to get Bob 
Conrad a hearing and to get him a vote on the Senate floor. I ask my 
colleagues to do this for Judge Conrad, but, more importantly, do it 
for the American people.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, I come to the floor today, along with my 
colleague, to speak on the pending nomination of Robert J. Conrad, but 
I also wish to speak about the nomination of Thomas Alvin Farr to be a 
district court judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
  As my great friend and colleague, Senator Burr from North Carolina, 
has pointed out, these nominations have reached a number of troublesome 
and frustrating milestones in the past few weeks. Bob Conrad has now 
been waiting more than 300 days--300 days--for a hearing, and Tom 
Farr's nomination has languished for a nearly unprecedented duration of 
over 500 days--500 days--without a hearing. In fact, he now holds the 
unenviable distinction of being the longest current pending district 
court nominee.
  Bob Conrad and Tom Farr have both received the American Bar 
Association's highest rating of unanimously ``well qualified'' and 
still they await a hearing.
  Bob Conrad and Tom Farr have the full support of their home State 
Senators. Both of their blue slips were long ago returned, and still 
they await a hearing.
  The Eastern District seat to which Tom is nominated and the Fourth 
Circuit seat to which Bob Conrad has been nominated have been declared 
judicial emergencies by the Judicial Conference. I would add that North 
Carolina, the most populous State in the Circuit, has historically been 
significantly underrepresented on the court and presently can claim 
only one judge, the Honorable Allyson Duncan, when we should have four 
or five. And still, these accomplished and capable candidates continue 
to wait hundreds of days without receiving a hearing.
  The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, the distinguished Senator 
from Vermont, has taken time to meet both Tom Farr and Bob Conrad, and 
we thank him for the courtesy. Despite the chairman's having met these 
two thoughtful and impressive men, having heard them pledge their 
commitment to the law and its impartial administration, they have faced 
inaction by the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Tom Farr and Bob Conrad are two of the most distinguished and 
respected legal professionals in the State of North Carolina. For his 
part, Tom graduated at the top of his class, summa cum laude from 
Hillsdale College, and went on to receive his J.D. from Emory 
University and his Masters of Law in Labor from the Georgetown 
University Law Center. Tom spent a year as the late U.S. Senator John 
East's Labor Committee Counsel. He also has clerked for Judge Frank 
Bullock of North Carolina's Middle District; served as an Adjunct 
Professor of Labor and Employment Law; chaired the Magistrate Judge 
Merit Selection Committee in North Carolina's Eastern District; and is 
a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference.
  Tom Farr has spent the majority of his career practicing employment 
law in Raleigh with two of our State's most important law firms. 
Recognized as a leader in his practice area, Tom has been selected as a 
Top 100 Super Lawyer for 2 years running by his colleagues and as 
``Legal Elite'' for 5 years running by Business North Carolina. He is 
listed in the Martindale Hubbell Law Directory, the listing of the 
country's leading attorneys, and has maintained their preeminent 
ranking for more than a decade.
  And regarding the impressive qualifications of Judge Bob Conrad, he 
is a magna cum laude graduate of Clemson University and received his 
law degree from the University of Virginia. His career and credentials 
are known to many in this body. The Senate confirmed him by a 
noncontroversial voice vote as a Judge in North Carolina's Western 
District, and he has served since 2006 as that court's chief judge. Bob 
Conrad is recognized as a judge and judicial scholar of the first order 
by the attorneys who appear before him and the judges with whom he 
works.
  Indeed, both the Conrad and Farr nominations are supported by a wide 
array of their colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, many of whom 
have written the chairman to express their support for these nominees 
and belief in their fitness for the Federal judiciary.
  In this body, we often speak of judicial nominations in terms of 
numbers: Number of nominees confirmed; number of days pending. And 
while these numbers are important, let us not lose sight of the fact 
that these nominees are real people with careers and families; real 
people who have made sacrifices in those careers, in time spent with 
those families, all for the opportunity to serve their country as a 
Federal judge. Yes, appointment to these high offices is an honor 
representing the entrustment of an awesome responsibility. And the 
Senate's constitutional duty of advice and consent is not to be 
discharged lightly. But our duty must be discharged by allowing an up 
or down vote on these nominees.
  I ask my colleagues to move forward and bring some measure of relief 
to the people of North Carolina's Eastern District and the Fourth 
Circuit. It is a simple and reasonable request. And action on the 
nominations of Tom Farr and Bob Conrad is long overdue.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, am I listed in the order of morning 
business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized for 25 minutes.

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