[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 7227-7230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

NOMINATIONS OF GLORIA M. NAVARRO TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR 
   THE DISTRICT OF NEVADA; NANCY D. FREUDENTHAL TO BE UNITED STATES 
DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE DISTRICT OF WYOMING; DENZIL PRICE MARSHALL, JR. 
TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will proceed to executive session to consider nominations which 
the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Gloria M. Navarro, of 
Nevada, to be United States District Judge for the District of Nevada; 
Nancy D. Freudenthal, of Wyoming, to be United States District Judge 
for the District of Wyoming; and Denzil Price Marshall, Jr., of 
Arkansas, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District 
of Arkansas.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, it is my understanding there is a consent 
agreement now in effect that has three votes for three judges, and then 
two other matters related to the banking bill; is that true?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that agreement be modified to have 
the first vote be 15 minutes and the next four 10-minute votes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                    Nomination of Gloria M. Navarro

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will say a few words about the first vote 
we are going to have today.
  I am very happy I had the opportunity and the privilege to nominate 
Gloria Navarro to be a Federal judge for the District of Nevada. What a 
wonderful addition she will be to the Federal Judiciary. She has a 
number of outstanding qualities.
  First, she is such a fine human being. She has a wonderful family--a 
husband who supports her entirely in this terrifically important job 
she is going to take. He is an accomplished lawyer himself. She has 
wonderful children and a mom who supports her. She is a Nevadan who has 
been educated in the Nevada school system. She has attended some of the 
finest universities in the country--the University of Southern 
California and Arizona State.
  In my interviews with her, I was very impressed. She has proven 
throughout her personal and professional life that she embodies the 
values of our country--hard work, discipline, and respect for the rule 
of law. I have been impressed time and time again by this Nevadan's 
record and her commitment to public service in all areas of her life. 
She has worked for two decades in both the private and public sectors 
and has experience in every aspect of the law--complex litigation at 
both the Federal and State levels; murder cases.
  She is currently the chief deputy district attorney in the Office of 
County Counsel, providing legal counsel and litigation defense to the 
Clark County Board of Commissioners. She has worked as a public 
defender, and in 2002 she received the Nevada State Bar Access to 
Justice Pro Bono Public Lawyer of the Year award. She has also worked 
in private practice, representing clients in Federal and State 
litigation relating to criminal, civil, and family law. In 2001, she 
was awarded the very prestigious Louis Wiener Pro Bono Service Award.
  She is committed to the State of Nevada. She is committed to her 
community. Among other things, as president of the Latino Bar 
Association, she created a mentoring program pairing high school, 
college, and law school students with community lawyers.
  It is my pleasure to have recommended her to be a judge, and everyone 
can rest assured that she will do an outstanding job for the people of 
Nevada in dispensing fair, equal justice under the law.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Senate Republicans have not allowed the 
Senate to act on a judicial nominee for almost 2 weeks. They have 
continued to stall the almost two dozen judicial nominees reported 
favorably by the Senate Judiciary Committee, dating back to last 
November. These 23 judicial nominees awaiting final Senate action 
include 17 who were reported without any negative votes. That is 
right--Senate Republicans continue to block Senate consideration and 
confirmation of nominees, including judicial nominees, who are not only 
going to be confirmed, but will likely be confirmed unanimously.
  The majority leader has had to file cloture petitions to cut off the 
Republican stalling by filibuster votes on President Obama's nominees 
22 times. Twice he has had to file cloture to proceed with judicial 
nominees, only to

[[Page 7228]]

eventually see those nominees confirmed unanimously. This stalling and 
obstruction is wrong.
  Senator Whitehouse, Senator McCaskill, and a number of other Senators 
have taken up the cause against these delays and secret holds. I thank 
them. They made live requests for action on the Senate floor to bring 
these matters into the light. Regrettably, those Republican Senators 
who had objected did not come forward to identify themselves or the 
reasons for their objections in accordance with Senate rules.
  By this date in George W. Bush's Presidency, the Senate had confirmed 
52 Federal circuit and district court judges. As of today, only 20 
Federal circuit and district court confirmations have been allowed by 
Senate Republicans. As I have noted there remain another two dozen 
additional judicial nominations stalled before final Senate action by 
Republican obstruction. It should not take 2 weeks to work out time 
agreements on three noncontroversial nominees. Nominees reported 
without a single negative vote in committee should not be stalled for 
months for no good reason.
  Despite the fact that President Obama began sending judicial 
nominations to the Senate 2 months earlier than President Bush, the 
Senate is far behind the pace we set during the Bush administration. In 
the second half of 2001 and through 2002 the Senate confirmed 100 of 
President Bush's judicial nominees. Given Republican delay and 
obstruction this Senate may not achieve even half of that. Last year 
the Senate was allowed to confirm only 12 Federal circuit and district 
court judges all year. That was the lowest total in more than 50 years. 
Meanwhile, judicial vacancies have skyrocketed to more than 100, more 
than 40 of which have been declared to be ``judicial emergencies'' by 
the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
  There is no explanation or excuse for what continues to be a practice 
by Senate Republicans of secret holds, and a Senate Republican 
leadership strategy of delay and obstruction of this President's 
nominations. That is wrong.
  Throughout the past month, a number of Senators have come before the 
Senate to discuss this untenable situation and to ask for consent to 
proceed to scores of noncontroversial nominations. Republicans objected 
anonymously and without specifying any basis whatsoever.
  These long delays unfortunately continue to be part of a pattern of 
Republican obstructionism that we have seen since President Obama took 
office. In a dramatic departure from the Senate's traditional practice 
of prompt and routine consideration of noncontroversial nominations, 
Senate Republicans have refused month after month to join agreements to 
consider, debate and vote on nominations. This unprecedented practice 
has led to a backlog of nominations and a historically low number of 
judicial confirmations.
  We should restore the Senate's tradition of moving promptly to 
consider noncontroversial nominees pending on the calendar, with up-or-
down votes in a matter of days, not weeks, and certainly not months. 
For those nominees Republicans wish to debate, we should come to 
agreements for when to have those debates and votes. It should not take 
cloture in order for the Senate to get its work done and fulfill its 
constitutional advice and consent responsibilities.
  I, again, urge the Senate Republican leadership to abandon its 
destructive delaying tactics and allow the Senate to act on the backlog 
of nearly two dozen judicial nominees reported by the Senate Judiciary 
Committee over the last 6 months that they have stalled for no good 
purpose.
  The three nominations we consider today should have been confirmed 
months ago, and I predict will each be confirmed overwhelmingly. Nancy 
Freudenthal has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the District of 
Wyoming. She has decades of experience as a public servant and a lawyer 
in private practice, and she currently serves as Wyoming's First Lady. 
Ms. Freudenthal has been rated ``well qualified'' by the American Bar 
Association's, ABA, Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary and, 
when confirmed, she will be that state's first female Federal judge. 
The Judiciary Committee favorably reported Ms. Freudenthal's nomination 
by voice vote without dissent on February 11--nearly 3 months ago--and 
her nomination has the support of both of Wyoming's Republican 
Senators, Senator Enzi and Senator Barrasso.
  Judge D. Price Marshall has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the 
Eastern District of Arkansas. The Judiciary Committee also favorably 
reported his nomination by voice vote without dissent nearly 3 months 
ago, on February 11. Judge Marshall is currently a well-respected judge 
on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, and he spent 15 years in private 
practice in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He also served as a law clerk to 
Seventh Circuit Judge Richard S. Arnold. Judge Marshall has earned the 
highest possible rating, unanimously ``well qualified'' from the ABA 
Standing Committee, and he has the strong support of both of his home 
State Senators, Senator Pryor and Senator Lincoln.
  Gloria Navarro has been nominated to serve as a Federal district 
court judge in Nevada. The Judiciary Committee reported her nomination 
by voice vote without dissent 2 months ago, on March 4. When the Senate 
finally confirms her, Ms. Navarro will become the only woman, and the 
only Hispanic, on the Nevada district court. Ms. Navarro, who has been 
rated ``qualified'' by the ABA's standing committee has gained valuable 
experience as a chief deputy district attorney in Clark County, NV, as 
a public defender and as a lawyer in private practice. Her nomination 
has the support of both of her home State Senators, Senator Reid and 
Senator Ensign.
  The three judicial nominees the Senate considers today have each been 
stalled by Republican objection for months. Each has the support of his 
or her home State Senators. In one case, that is two Republican 
Senators, in another that is two Democratic Senators, and in the third 
case that is one Democratic Senator and a Republican Senator. Each of 
these confirmations is long overdue. I congratulate the nominees and 
their families on their confirmations today.
  I urge the Republican leadership to agree to prompt consideration of 
the additional 20 judicial nominees they continue to stall.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there any debate in opposition 
to the nomination?
  If not, the question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the 
nomination of Gloria M. Navarro, of Nevada, to be United States 
District Judge for the District of Nevada?
  Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd) 
is necessarily absent.
  Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Utah (Mr. Bennett).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 98, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 128 Ex.]

                                YEAS--98

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown (MA)
     Brown (OH)
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burris
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson
     Kaufman
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     LeMieux
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)

[[Page 7229]]


     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Bennett
     Byrd
       
  The nomination was confirmed.


                   Nomination of Nancy D. Freudenthal

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate, evenly 
divided, on the nomination of Nancy D. Freudenthal, of Wyoming, to be 
U.S. circuit judge.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I am pleased to rise in support of the 
nomination of Nancy Freudenthal to serve as a judge for the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Wyoming. I want to thank Chairman 
Leahy and Senator Sessions and the Judiciary Committee staff for their 
assistance moving this nomination through the process.
  Nancy is a Wyoming native, born in Cody, and received both her B.A. 
and her J.D. from the University of Wyoming.
  After being admitted to the Wyoming State Bar in 1980, Nancy took a 
position with Governor Ed Herschler as his attorney for 
intergovernmental affairs for 8 years. She then served in the same 
position for Governor Mike Sullivan for 2 years. In this capacity, 
Nancy served as the Governor's representative on numerous boards, 
worked extensively with the State legislature, taught at the University 
of Wyoming College of Law, and served as acting administrator of the 
Department of Environmental Quality in the Land Quality Division.
  In 1989, Nancy was appointed by Governor Sullivan to the Wyoming Tax 
Commission and State Board of Equalization, where she served as 
Chairman for a 6-year term. While the State board of equalization is 
tasked with the annual process of equalizing valuation of property in 
Wyoming counties, the board has a main function of listening to 
disputes between taxpayers and the Department of Revenue and reviewing 
appeals. Nancy's experience as chairman of this board will greatly 
enhance her abilities as a judge.
  Since joining Davis & Cannon, LLP in 1995, Nancy has handled a wide 
variety of matters, including complex mineral tax litigation, 
environmental and natural resource disputes, public utility law, oil 
and gas litigation, employment litigation, and commercial transactions. 
She has experience at both the trial and appellate levels. Nancy is 
well respected among her peers and judges in Wyoming.
  I also want to mention how important this judgeship is for Wyoming. 
While Senators disagree at times about specific nominees, we can all 
agree that without judges in place our legal system slows down and does 
a disserve to the people we represent.
  Nancy Freudenthal's experiences as a private attorney and in State 
government will serve her well as a district court judge. I am pleased 
that her nomination has received the strong support of my Senate 
colleagues.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I will support this nominee, but I should 
mention again that Senate Republicans have not allowed us to vote on a 
judicial nominee for almost 2 weeks.
  By this date in George W. Bush's Presidency, the Senate had confirmed 
52 Federal circuit and district court judges. As of today, we had only 
been allowed only 20 by the Senate Republicans. Counting the recent 
vote on Gloria M. Navarro this brings us just up to 21 confirmations.
  There are nearly two dozen additional nominations stalled. It should 
not take 2 weeks to try to get through these secret holds. When we have 
people who are confirmed unanimously in the committee, then confirmed 
unanimously on the floor, it is unconscionable to hold them up week 
after week after week.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I am rising in support of the nominee. Any 
delays that there have been have not been for this particular nominee, 
nor by the Wyoming delegation at all.
  This is a position that has been open now for over 2 years. The first 
nominee for this position got a hearing but could not get a vote in 
committee. The nomination ran out and we now have a new nominee, who is 
Mrs. Freudenthal, Nancy Freudenthal, who is also the first lady of 
Wyoming.
  But she, in her own right, has been an attorney, has served with 
three different Governors in the State of Wyoming, and does a 
phenomenal job. She has her law degree from the University of Wyoming 
and would make an outstanding person to fill in this roll. Both Senator 
Barrasso and I are strongly in support of her and have been pushing for 
her nomination since we first started.
  Mr. LEAHY. Would the Senator yield? The Senator is absolutely right. 
The Wyoming Senators did not hold up this nominee, but the Republican 
side did.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, the Republican side may have been doing 
things to be sure we had votes on judges, which is the same thing the 
Democrats did when we were in the majority. We had to have votes on all 
these. I am glad we finally got to the position of having a vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Time has expired.
  Mr. ENZI. I ask everyone to vote aye.
  I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to 
be.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Nancy D. Freudenthal, of Wyoming, to be U.S. district judge for the 
District of Wyoming?
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd) 
and the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Utah (Mr. Bennett).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 96, nays 1, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 129 Ex.]

                                YEAS--96

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown (MA)
     Brown (OH)
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burris
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson
     Kaufman
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     LeMieux
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--1

       
     Coburn
       

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Bennett
     Byrd
     Kerry
  The nomination was confirmed.


                Nomination of Denzil Price Marshall, Jr.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate equally 
divided on the nomination of Denzil Price Marshall Jr., of Arkansas, to 
be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
  The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I am so pleased to rise in support of 
Judge Price Marshall who has been nominated to fill the Federal 
judicial vacancy in the Eastern District of Arkansas.
  Judge Marshall has enjoyed an impressive and lengthy legal career in 
Arkansas, where he has served as a judge on the Arkansas Court of 
Appeals since 2006.

[[Page 7230]]

  Previously, Judge Marshall practiced law in his hometown of 
Jonesboro, for 15 years, as a principal at the firm Barrett & Deacon. 
He also clerked for U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Arnold from 1989 to 
1991.
  He graduated from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 1985, 
where he currently serves as an adjunct professor of political science.
  Judge Marshall also received a degree from the London School of 
Economics, and graduated with honors from Harvard Law School in 1989.
  He has done a tremendous job. He is very well known in Arkansas as a 
gifted appellate advocate, brilliant legal mind, and well-respected man 
of integrity. I am so pleased the Senate is taking the role of moving 
him forward in this capacity. I thank Chairman Leahy and the Judiciary 
Committee for moving the nomination forward. I have full faith and 
confidence in Judge Marshall's ability and encourage Members to support 
him.
  I yield to my colleague from Arkansas.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I don't think it is an exaggeration to say 
that when our Founding Fathers laid out article III of the 
Constitution, they had people such as Price Marshall in mind. He is 
smart. He is hard-working. He is a family man. He is involved in his 
community. He is involved in his church and in his legal profession. He 
is an elected member of the Arkansas Court of Appeals. When he was in 
private practice, he had a reputation as a lawyer's lawyer. I join 
Senator Lincoln in giving him my highest recommendation.
  I appreciate all my colleagues voting yes on Price Marshall.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Denzil Price Marshall, Jr., of Arkansas, to be United States 
District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas?
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The motion to reconsider is considered as made and tabled.
  The President shall be notified of the Senate's action.
 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for the 
votes on the nomination of Nancy D. Freudenthal to be U.S. District 
Judge for the District of Wyoming and Denzil Price Marshall Jr. to be 
U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas. If I were 
able to attend today's session, I would have supported both 
nominees.

                          ____________________