[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6384-6385]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          CRABTREE NOMINATION

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I wish to speak for a few moments on the 
Senate floor. We are working our way through a number of confirmations 
relating to Federal district judges across the country. One of them is 
the potential Federal district judge for my State of Kansas. I rise to 
speak in support of one of those individuals who will be considered by 
the Senate this week, Daniel Crabtree. He was nominated by the 
President to be a U.S. district court judge for the District of Kansas.
  I want to attest to my colleagues my view that he is a gentleman who 
should be confirmed by the Senate. He was reported out of the Judiciary 
Committee without opposition and is rated unanimously ``well 
qualified'' by the American Bar Association, which, in part, confirms 
my view that he would make an outstanding Federal judge.
  I actually have known this individual for more than 30 years, dating 
back to

[[Page 6385]]

our days at the University of Kansas School of Law, where he was 1 year 
ahead of me in law school. I have followed his personal and 
professional development since that time. We have remained acquainted, 
we have been friends, and for a short period of time we practiced law 
at the same firm in downtown Kansas City. He is worthy of our support 
today, but he is also someone who has my respect and admiration.
  After graduating from the University of Kansas School of Law, Dan 
Crabtree became an associate and ultimately became a partner at the 
downtown Kansas City law firm then called Stinson, Mag & Fizzell. He 
became a partner in 1988. The firm merged into a firm called Stinson 
Morrison Hecker in 2002.
  He is a litigator with extensive experience in the Federal and State 
courts, and he received recognition by the publication ``Best Lawyers'' 
in Kansas City as the Antitrust Lawyer of the Year in 2013. In 2014 he 
was the Kansas City Banking and Finance Litigation Lawyer of the Year. 
Again, this is outside confirmation of his qualifications and 
capabilities.
  Dan is a lifelong resident of our State. He grew up in Kansas City, 
KS, the suburbs of Kansas City, MO, on the Kansas side of the line. He 
and his wife Maureen and their teenager daughter continue to live in 
Kansas City, KS, today.
  I have often spoken on the Senate floor about the special way of life 
we have in our State, and Dan Crabtree, in his hometown of Kansas City, 
KS, exemplifies what I so often admire, respect, and speak of on the 
Senate floor about his humility, his devotion to others, his 
relationship with his community, and how important it is to him to be 
an active member in trying to make life better for other people, those 
who are his neighbors and those who surround him in Kansas City and 
Kansas, our State. He has those characteristics of a Kansan.
  I have often known people who have been very successful in their 
professional lives, who have succeeded, for example, in law school, 
gone on to a large prestigious firm, and in many instances it seems as 
if they forgot where they came from. Dan continues to live in his 
hometown and continues to work to make certain that good things happen 
in that community. He does that with a great sense of humility. While 
he has the attributes that could cause him to be superior in his 
attitude toward others, Dan is humble, caring, and compassionate. His 
pride in where he comes from is evidenced by a devotion to many 
community activities--the Community Foundation of Wyandotte County and 
the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. He sits on the board of 
directors for the Kansas City Sports Commission, and he is responsible 
in part for bringing 14 NCAA championships to Kansas City over the past 
few years.
  All of this encompasses who Dan is. He is a husband, a father, a 
lawyer, and a community leader. He is exemplary in fulfilling each of 
those roles. Mostly, I want to say that his character, integrity, and 
professional achievements are worthy of being a member of the Federal 
bench. In fact, I can think of few others whom I have met in my time as 
a Senator but also my time as a practicing attorney in Kansas City who 
would fulfill the solemn duties of this position better than Dan 
Crabtree.
  I thank the President for nominating Dan Crabtree, and I ask my 
colleagues to join me in swiftly confirming him as a judge for the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Kansas.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota.

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