[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 502-504]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, 
which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of 
Wilhelmina Marie Wright, of Minnesota, to be United States District 
Judge for the District of Minnesota.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 30 
minutes of debate.
  The Senator from Minnesota.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I am proud to rise in support of 
Justice Wilhelmina Wright's confirmation as a district court judge for 
the District of Minnesota. Justice Wright, as the members of the 
Judiciary Committee learned during her fine hearing, is a dedicated 
public servant with a distinguished career spanning the State and 
Federal legal system. She is the first person in the history of 
Minnesota to serve at all three levels of the judiciary and receive 
this nomination. She served as a district court judge in Minnesota, she 
served for the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and she now serves on the 
Minnesota Supreme Court. Her 15 years of judicial experience make her 
ready to do this job on day one, and I can state that when you hear the 
statistics about the overload for the District of Minnesota, we need 
her to start tomorrow on day one.
  Her qualifications are impeccable. Justice Wright has sat on panels 
deciding over 2,000 cases and presided over nearly 700. Yet with all 
those cases and all these opinions, there were no serious questions 
raised at all about her being biased or unfair in some way in her work 
as a judge. In fact, it was the opposite. She has the support of former 
Senator Norm Coleman, a Republican, and many others in our State who 
have served across the aisle. Her qualifications reveal a thoughtful 
and a talented jurist, one who applies the law to the facts of each 
case.
  Justice Wright currently serves as associate justice of the Minnesota 
Supreme Court, a position she has had since her appointment in 2012. As 
the first African-American woman to serve on the court, Justice Wright 
has earned the respect of litigants, lawyers, and judicial colleagues 
alike.
  Justice Wright was born in Norfolk, VA. She graduated from Yale 
College cum laude in 1986 and received her law degree from Harvard Law 
School in 1989. After law school, Justice Wright clerked for Judge 
Damon Keith of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She then went into 
private practice for 5 years at Hogan & Hartson. Before long she felt 
the pull of public service. She joined the Office of the U.S. Attorney 
for the District of Minnesota and has been a dependable and dedicated 
leader of the Minnesota legal system ever since that time. During her 
time as a Federal prosecutor, she received the U.S. Department of 
Justice Director's Award and the Department's Special Achievement 
Award.
  If you look at her path before she became a judge, every step of the 
way she excelled. She excelled growing up. She excelled in college and 
law school in terms of her record. She excelled as a judicial clerk, 
she excelled in private practice, and she excelled in the U.S. 
attorney's office, where she received numerous awards. She was then 
appointed by, I believe, Gov. Jesse Ventura. She did not start her 
career as a political appointee. He was in the Independent Party. She 
served as a Ramsey County district court judge from 2000 to 2002, when 
she was appointed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
  She served for 10 years until her most recent appointment to the 
Minnesota Supreme Court. Justice Wright is also involved in a variety 
of civic and bar activities. She devotes 50 hours per year to educating 
the public on the law.
  If that is not enough, Justice Wright has also worked to improve the 
legal system. She has been a member of the Minnesota Judicial Council, 
the Minnesota Courts Public Trust and Confidence Working Group, and the 
Minnesota State Bar Association Task Force on the Minnesota Bar 
Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct. In 2006, the Minnesota 
Women Lawyers honored her with the Myra Bradwell Award for her service, 
and in 2012 the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers presented her 
with the President's Award.
  The law has always been more than a profession for Justice Wright. It 
has been central to her own development. Growing up, she watched her 
parents fight the Norfolk, VA, school system to ensure her access to 
the same educational opportunities as everyone else. The protections 
enforced by the legal system were crucial to her family's struggle. As 
Justice Wright has said about the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. 
Board of Education: ``Aside from the Bible, that court order was the 
most important written document in my family's life.''
  The law worked for Justice Wright. In turn, she has dedicated her own 
life to the law and to fairness and impartiality.
  Justice Wright deserves to be confirmed. As I said, the Judiciary 
Committee hearing went extremely well. She has the support of many 
members of the committee. In fact, her nomination went through without 
an objection when we had the vote. She explained any questions that the 
members of the Judiciary Committee had--and there were some, obviously. 
A very good Senator asked a lot of questions on the committee. She 
explained any question they had about past legal writings from law 
school and other issues. They felt secure in her nomination and passed 
her out of committee without any objection. No new issues have been 
raised since that time. There were no serious questions about the 2,300 
cases she handled. I can't think of many nominees we have had with that 
kind of record.
  I would add that this nomination is particularly important to the 
District of Minnesota. The U.S. Judicial Conference has deemed the 
current vacancy in our State to be a judicial emergency. Our district 
caseload has increased significantly in recent years. In 2014, the 
district saw a 57-percent

[[Page 503]]

jump in case filings, with nearly 6,000 Federal cases currently 
pending. Judge Davis assumed senior status last August, vacating the 
position for which she has been nominated. Failing to fill this 
judicial vacancy is failing the people of Minnesota.
  I am so proud of my colleagues and thank them for their support, both 
Democrats and Republicans on the Judiciary Committee who will be voting 
for her today. Justice Wright is the type of nominee we strive for--the 
best candidate for the job. We had a bipartisan committee led by two 
private practice lawyers, one having served as U.S. attorney for the 
State of Minnesota under the first President Bush and the second 
President Bush, Tom Heffelfinger. He chaired this committee which 
looked at so many qualified nominees and made this recommendation to 
Senator Franken and myself. So this process from the beginning has been 
completely bipartisan and impeccable and we are proud of that process.
  The ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary unanimously rated 
Justice Wright as ``well qualified'' to serve as a district court judge 
for the District of Minnesota, which is the highest rating the 
committee awards. It is based on a confidential peer review of Justice 
Wright's professional competence, integrity, and judicial temperament.
  As Senator Coleman, a former Senator from the State of Minnesota, a 
Republican Senator, said: ``I fully support her nomination and have 
communicated that to my former colleagues.''
  Why does Senator Coleman support this nomination? Because he looked 
at the record of a woman of integrity, a woman who had not one case 
questioned before the very thorough Judiciary Committee, who has the 
support of many of the Republican Senators--no objections raised when 
the vote was taken. This is exactly the kind of nominee we want.
  Justice Wilhelmina Wright will make a fine Federal district court 
judge for the District of Minnesota. I urge all my colleagues to 
support this superb nominee. The people of Minnesota need and deserve a 
judge of Wilhelmina Wright's caliber. We are proud of our Federal 
judges in Minnesota. Some came from Democratic administrations, some 
came out of Republican administrations, but they have always had the 
reputation of integrity. Justice Wright will continue to uphold that 
reputation of integrity.
  I ask my colleagues to support her.
  Thank you, Mr. President, and I yield the floor. I also see that my 
colleague Senator Franken is here as well.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. FRANKEN. Thank you, Mr. President.
  I thank the senior Senator from Minnesota for her remarks about 
Wilhelmina Wright. I join her in rising not just in strong support but 
enthusiastic support for Justice Wilhelmina Wright's nomination to 
serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. We call 
her Justice Wright because she is on the Minnesota Supreme Court. She 
has been an excellent consensus nominee.
  I would like to thank Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Leahy for 
working to ensure that the Judiciary Committee reported out her 
nomination favorably. I would also like to thank Leader McConnell for 
scheduling this afternoon's vote.
  As of today, Justice Wright's nomination has been pending for 279 
days--more than 9 months. The seat she has been nominated to fill has 
been declared a judicial emergency. So I am pleased the Senate is 
moving to confirm Justice Wright and that Minnesotans seeking justice 
will soon be able to have their day in court.
  Justice Wright is, without question, the best candidate for this 
position. Not only did she earn a stellar reputation as a Federal 
prosecutor in Minnesota, but Justice Wright is the only person in our 
State's history to serve as a judge at all three levels of Minnesota's 
judiciary. In her 15 years on the bench, Justice Wright has heard more 
than 2,000 cases, and none of her rulings in those cases raised concern 
during her hearing, which is why her nomination was approved without 
objection by the Judiciary Committee in September. For those who have 
known her, this comes as no surprise. Justice Wright understands the 
role of a judge. Her unwavering commitment to fairness and 
impartiality, as well as her reputation for professionalism, explains 
why Justice Wright enjoys a deep well of support in Minnesota from both 
sides of the aisle, and I emphasize that.
  Senator Klobuchar and I formed a bipartisan selection committee to 
assist us in identifying a nominee for this vacancy. That committee was 
cochaired by Tom Heffelfinger, a Republican former U.S. attorney for 
the District of Minnesota under Presidents George H.W. Bush and George 
W. Bush. They are two different people, H.W. and W. Bush, both 
Presidents.
  In recommending Justice Wright to Senator Klobuchar and to me, Mr. 
Heffelfinger said that her nomination ``continues the long Minnesota 
tradition of selecting federal judges based on their professionalism 
and experience, rather than political connections. Justice Wright 
embodies everything one could look for in a federal judge: experience, 
intellectual firepower, a calm and patient demeanor, and a deep 
personal understanding of the issues facing the people of this 
country.''
  I think everybody on that panel absolutely agreed with Tom 
Heffelfinger, who is a great public servant. If Tom Heffelfinger, who 
is a great public figure himself, says those words, they are high 
praise indeed. And it was echoed by other conservative voices before 
Justice Wright's hearing before the Judiciary Committee. Chairman 
Grassley noted that several Republicans had called him to voice support 
for her nomination. One of those calls came from my colleague in the 
House, Representative Erik Paulsen, who represents Minnesota's Third 
District.
  It is clear to me why the people of my State, regardless of their 
political persuasion, support her nomination. Justice Wright's 
integrity, her dedication to public service, and her commitment to 
equal justice reflect Minnesota values.
  I strongly urge that all of my colleagues support Wilhelmina Wright, 
and I look forward to her confirmation. This is very important. We have 
other judges who are up for confirmation who come from States such as 
Iowa and Nebraska. They have been signed off by both of their Senators, 
including the Presiding Officer. This is a bipartisan commission with 
bipartisan support, and I urge all of my colleagues to vote for Justice 
Wilhelmina Wright, who now sits on the Minnesota Supreme Court, to sit 
on the Federal district court.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, yesterday, our Nation celebrated the 
birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is a hero to millions of 
Americans for helping to break down racial barriers in this country. It 
is fitting that today the Senate is turning to a confirmation vote that 
will increase racial diversity on our Federal bench. Justice Wilhelmina 
Wright is nominated to a judicial emergency vacancy on the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Minnesota. Justice Wright currently 
serves on the Minnesota Supreme Court. She is the first African-
American woman to serve on that court and the first person in Minnesota 
history to serve as a judge at all three levels of the State judiciary.
  I commend Senators Klobuchar and Franken for their tireless efforts 
in helping to move this nomination to a vote. A vote on her nomination 
is long overdue. Justice Wright was nominated in April 2015, over 9 
months ago. She was reported out of the Judiciary Committee by 
unanimous voice vote over 4 months ago. After months of needless delay, 
we could and should have voted to confirm her at the end of the last 
session.

[[Page 504]]

  I know Justice Wright will make a superb Federal judge. Since 2012, 
she has served as an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. 
From 2002 to 2012, she served on the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and 
prior to her tenure on that court, she was the first African-American 
to serve as a judge on the district court in the second judicial 
district, Ramsey County, Minnesota, from 2000 to 2002. In her 15-year 
judicial career, Justice Wright has presided over or served on panels 
that decided more than 2,000 cases.
  Prior to her appointment to the bench, she was a Federal prosecutor 
for the district of Minnesota for 5 years. Justice Wright graduated 
with her B.A., cum laude, from Yale University and earned her law 
degree from Harvard Law School. Upon graduating from law school, she 
clerked for Judge Damon J. Keith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Eighth Circuit. With her considerable professional experience, it is no 
surprise that the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary has 
unanimously rated her ``Well Qualified'' to serve on the district 
court, its highest rating. She also has the enthusiastic support of her 
home State Senators, Senators Franken and Klobuchar.
  Based on her wealth of judicial experience and broad support, I 
cannot think of any good reason why Justice Wright should not be 
confirmed with an overwhelming vote.
  After Justice Wright is confirmed, there will be votes under a 
bipartisan agreement on three other district court nominees--one to the 
district of New Jersey, one to the southern district of Iowa, and one 
to the northern district of Iowa. These nominees will be confirmed by 
President's Day. After we return to session in February, I hope that 
Republican leadership will continue to schedule nominees for 
confirmation votes to address the 72 current judicial vacancies that we 
face today, 32 of which are judicial emergencies.
  A Politico article last week discussed demands from certain extreme 
conservative groups for Republican leadership to shut down the 
confirmation process and block all judicial confirmations for the 
remainder of the year. I am hopeful that the majority leader will not 
let moneyed Washington interests decide whether we will uphold our 
Senatorial oath to provide advice and consent to the President on 
judicial nominations. Shutting down all judicial confirmations would be 
a dangerous departure from prior practice. In the last 5 Presidential 
election years, the Senate has confirmed an average of 30 judicial 
nominees in the final year prior to Election Day. As both chairman and 
ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, I have worked with 
Republicans to confirm judicial nominees, report nominees out of 
committee, and hold hearings for nominees well into September of 
Presidential election years.
  This was the case in 2008, when I was chairman of the committee with 
a Republican President, and we worked to confirm judicial nominees as 
late as September of the Presidential election year. In fact, Senate 
Democrats helped confirm all 10 of President Bush's district court 
nominees pending on the Senate floor in a single day by unanimous 
consent on September 26, 2008. This was similarly true in 2004, when I 
was ranking member of the committee with a Republican President, and we 
worked to confirm nominees as late as September of the Presidential 
election year.
  Any attempt to shut down the judicial confirmation process to satisfy 
moneyed Washington interests groups would be wrong. It would only work 
to harm our justice system and the American people we were elected to 
represent. Outstanding nominees from Tennessee, Maryland, New Jersey, 
Nebraska, New York, and California have been pending on the floor for 
months. Nearly all of them would fill emergency vacancies. Votes on 
these nominees must be scheduled without further delay.
  In addition to these pending nominees, there are also four 
Pennsylvania district court nominees and a Rhode Island nominee that 
the Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to report out this month. And 
in committee, nominees from States represented by Republican Senators--
including Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin, and Indiana--
continue to wait for a hearing. It is up to the Senators from those 
States to urge their leadership to consider these nominees without 
delay so they can serve the people of those great States.
  I urge a vote for her confirmation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time on both sides be 
yielded back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Wilhelmina Marie Wright, of Minnesota, to be United States District 
Judge for the District of Minnesota?
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Texas (Mr. Cornyn), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator 
from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio), 
and the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) is 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gardner). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 58, nays 36, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 3 Ex.]

                                YEAS--58

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coats
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Flake
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Vitter
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--36

     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Daines
     Enzi
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Sasse
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Wicker

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Cornyn
     Cruz
     Graham
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Scott
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the President 
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

                          ____________________