[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11054]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  NOMINATION OF JOHN T. FOWLKES, JR. TO THE FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT OF 
                           WESTERN TENNESSEE

  (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, yesterday the United States Senate approved 
the nomination of President Obama, upon my recommendation, of John T. 
Fowlkes, Jr. to be the new Federal District Court Judge in the Western 
District of Tennessee. It was a moment of bipartisanship, where 
Senators McConnell and Reid worked to get the nomination up, and my 
Republican Senators, Corker and Alexander, sponsored and supported that 
nomination.
  Judge Fowlkes is an outstanding jurist and was an astounding 
attorney. He was a public defender, a State prosecutor, a Federal 
prosecutor, a chief administrative officer for our county government, 
and a current criminal court judge.
  I empanelled a group of lawyers--bipartisan, just about every 
representation you can imagine--to advise me on the person to 
recommend. Everybody felt John Fowlkes had the temperament and 
disposition, judicial experience, and was the right person for the job.
  I was proud to recommend him. I'm pleased the President nominated 
him. I'm thankful the Senate acted in a bipartisan way so we can work 
down our caseload. We need more judges, and the Senate needs to approve 
more.

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