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Below the fold is Senator Specter's speech of July 17 on the Southwick nomination, from the Congressional Record.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Pennsylvania.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I had made arrangements with the managers to speak between 12 and 12:30 on another matter, the pending nomination of Judge Leslie Southwick for the Fifth Circuit. Others have spoken longer, so I would ask unanimous consent that at this time I be permitted to speak for up to 15 minutes. I will try to make it a little shorter.

Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators SPECTER, KLOBUCHAR, and HARKIN, in that order, each be recognized for up to 10 minutes as in morning business, and that at the conclusion of those remarks the Senate stand in recess, as previously ordered.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I need a little more time than that. I will try to be shorter, but I would like the leeway of up to 15 minutes, as I had asked a few moments ago.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?

Mr. WEBB. I so modify my request, unless there is objection.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

The Senator from Pennsylvania.

NOMINATION OF JUDGE LESLIE H. SOUTHWICK

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, as stated a moment ago, I have sought recognition to speak about the nomination of a Mississippi appellate court judge, Leslie H. Southwick, to be a Federal judge on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. I have asked for this time because Judge Southwick has been before the Judiciary Committee on several occasions and, because there is not much known about his record, there have been certain objections raised. I have talked to our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and when they hear about his record, they are surprised that he is not moving through expeditiously. I thought it would be important to take a few moments to acquaint Senators with his record and, beyond that, to acquaint the public with the pending nomination.

This Chamber has seen some very contentious moments, going back over the past two decades, of partisanship on judicial nominations and extensive filibusters in 2004. Judges of both sides have been held up, with Republican Presidential nominees held up by a Democratic-controlled Senate, and the same thing with President Clinton's nominees being held up by a Republican Senate. I moved and supported President Clinton's nominees when they were qualified, and broke ranks. It seems to me that we ought to be looking at the merits of these nominees and not engaging in partisanship to block nominations when courts such as the Fifth Circuit are urgently in need of additional judicial manpower.

Judge Southwick has a very outstanding record, which I will detail briefly. I also want to deal with the objections which have been raised against him, which I do not think are substantial--not disqualifiers by any sense. Judge Southwick is 57 years old--a perfect age to come to the court of appeals, considering his background. He is a cum laude graduate of Rice University in 1972 and has a law degree from the University of Texas. He served as a law clerk on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and then he was a law clerk to Judge Charles Clark on the Fifth Circuit. So he has had experience in a clerk's capacity on the court to which he has now been nominated. He practiced law for 12 years, with a distinguished practice first as an associate and then as a partner at a respected Mississippi law firm. He was Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice for 4 years between 1989 and 1993.

He is an adjunct professor at the Mississippi School of Law. He has been a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity doing community service. He was the recipient of the Judicial Excellence Award from the Mississippi State Bar and was rated by the American Bar Association as unanimously well qualified.

When he was 42 years old, in 1992, he obtained an age waiver in order to join the Army Reserve. Then, in 2002, he volunteered, at the age of 53, to transfer to a line combat unit, and he served on forward-operating bases near Najaf in Iraq.

Major General Harold Cross characterized Judge Southwick's volunteering for duty in Iraq as follows:

This was a courageous move; as it was widely known at the time that the 155th was nearly certain to mobilize for overseas duties in the near future.

He is a man with an outstanding background and a courageous man who stepped forward at an advanced age to volunteer for service in Iraq, something that doesn't happen very often. It is a very rare occurrence.

On the Mississippi Court of Appeals, Judge Southwick has participated in between 6,000 and 7,000 cases--it is hard to be precise because many of them are unreported. He has written 985 opinions himself in the course of some 12 years.

The objections to Judge Southwick have focused on two cases. I wish to discuss very briefly these cases because I think, on their face, they show there is not any reason this man should not be confirmed. I discussed these cases with him. I met with him at length and talked with him about his judicial career and his service in Iraq. He is a mild-mannered professional who is a confident man--not flamboyant and not overstated. We talked about legal issues. He is a solid lawyer and has been a solid judge.

But the objections to him have focused on two cases. In one, a case captioned Richmond v. Mississippi Department of Human Services, the case involved a State social worker, Ms. Bonnie Richmond, who used, admittedly, an outrageous racial slur. The administrative board reviewing the matter to determine whether she should be dismissed or censured made the determination that she should not be dismissed based on the evidence before it: the racial slur was an isolated comment made outside the target's presence, it was followed by an apology which was accepted, and it did not result in significant disruption of the workplace. Under these circumstances, the review board concluded the dismissal of a public employee was not warranted.

Under Mississippi law, the board's ruling could be reversed only if it was arbitrary and capricious. That is the general standard for reversing an administrative decision. The Mississippi Court of Appeals applied that standard, which is deferential to the fact finder, to determine if there was sufficient evidence to support it, and the court decided that there was sufficient evidence.

This is a case where Judge Southwick did not write the opinion, only concurred in the opinion. The Mississippi Supreme Court, while finding that the administrative board needed to give more detailed reasons for its conclusions, nonetheless concluded that dismissal was not warranted--agreeing with the appellate court on which Judge Southwick sat.

In the hearing before the Judiciary Committee, Judge Southwick was asked about the case, and he said the slur was ``always offensive,'' ``inherently and highly derogatory,'' and said there was ``no worse word.''

In the face of his overwhelmingly good record, how can a man be denied confirmation on the basis of that situation?

There was another case about which Judge Southwick has been questioned, S.B. v. L.W., a custody case where the chancellor awarded the father custody of a child instead of the child's bisexual mother.

There were numerous factors leading to the award for the father, all of which were considered and weighed in favor of the father--steady job, higher income, owner of a large residence, and roots in the community.

The objection came because the majority and concurring opinions--again, not Judge Southwick's opinions, but ones that he joined--made reference to ``homosexual lifestyle.'' But, that is the same phrase used in Mississippi Supreme Court precedent. It is also a phrase which was used by the majority in the Lawrence case, Lawrence v. Texas, and has been used by many people, including President Clinton. So, there is hardly a basis for objecting to that kind of a reference, it seems to me.

[Page:
S9311] My record on civil rights and on rights for people regardless of lifestyle is well accepted. I can't see how this man can be pilloried on this basis. Moreover, he wrote an opinion, in a case called Hughey v. State of Mississippi, where he affirmed the trial court's decision to disallowed cross-examination as to the victim's sexual preference, saying he recognized the victim was homosexual, but that was not relevant to the defense and that such a line of inquiry would produce undue prejudice.

If there is a case where lifestyle is not involved, the trial court would not allow a party to try to smear someone with a reference to his or her being a homosexual. Judge Southwick affirmed it, as anybody would. But it shows his own sensitivity on this matter.

There are a couple of comments by some individuals who are very supportive--one a woman named La'Verne Edney, a distinguished African-American lawyer who is a partner in a prominent Jackson, Mississippi firm. She had some very complimentary things to say about Judge Southwick. He hired her as a clerk at a time when few others would hire a young African-American woman. Similarly, a practicing attorney named Patrick Beasley, also African American, wrote about Judge Southwick's sensitivity on racial matters. Because of limited time, I ask unanimous consent their statements be printed in the Record without my going into them.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

June 6, 2007.
Re letter of Endorsement for Leslie Southwick's appointment to the United States Court of Appeals.

Hon. ARLEN SPECTER,
Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.

DEAR SENATOR SPECTER: Judge Leslie Southwick has received a nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. I feel Judge Southwick would make an outstanding addition to the Court of Appeals. I write to support his application. My name is Patrick Earl Beasley. I am a licensed attorney in Mississippi and Georgia and have had the pleasure of knowing Judge Southwick for nearly a decade; I was also employed as his law clerk while he served as Presiding Judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Additionally, we have both served as members of the Mississippi Army National Guard. From these contacts, I believe I can comment knowledgeably about his intelligence, his character, and his commitment to excellence at large.

During my tenure as Judge Southwick's law clerk, I was impressed by the constraint Judge Southwick exhibited as a jurist on the appellate court. His most notable quality was his commitment to following established precedent. This often required him to put aside his personal convictions to uphold his role on the Court. In my opinion, this is a quality more jurists should emulate. His intellect is unsurpassed and be approached his job as a public servant with the same vigor and dedication that one would expect from a partner at a major law firm.

Lastly, on the issue of fairness to minorities, I speak from personal experience that Leslie Southwick is a good man who has been kind to me for no ulterior reason. I am not from an affluent family and have no political ties. While I graduated in the top third of my law school class, there were many individuals in my class with higher grade point averages and with family ``pedigrees'' to match. Yet, despite all of typical requirements for the clerkship that I lacked, Judge Southwick gave me an opportunity. Despite all the press to the contrary, Judge Southwick is a fair man and this is one of the qualities that makes him an excellent choice for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

I would be pleased to provide any additional information in support of Judge Leslie Southwick's appointment to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. If you need any additional information, please contact me at your convenience.

Very truly yours,
PATRICK E. BEASLEY.

-- BRUNINI, GRANTHAM, GROWER &

HEWES, PLLC,

Jackson, Mississippi, June 5, 2007.
Re Judge Leslie Southwick Nomination.

Hon. ARLEN SPECTER,
Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

DEAR SENATOR SPECTER: I am an African-American partner at the law firm of Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC, where Judge Southwick was once a member. I believe in fairness for all people and salute our leaders for giving their lives to assure that fairness. While I share the sentiments of other African-Americans that the federal judiciary needs to be more diverse, I believe that Judge Southwick is imminently qualified for the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and write in support of his nomination.

I met Judge Southwick during my third year of law school when I interned with the Court of Appeals of Mississippi. That internship allowed me an opportunity to work with most of the Judges on the bench at that time. I was most impressed with Judge Southwick because of his work ethic and his serene personality. When I finished law school in 1996. I believed that my chances for landing a clerkship were slim because there was only one African-American Court of Appeals judge on the bench at the time and there were very few Caucasian judges during the history of the Mississippi Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals (which was fairly new) who had ever hired African-American law clerks. In spite of the odds, I applied for a clerkship. Judge Southwick granted me an interview and hired me that same day. While Judge Southwick had many applicants to choose from, he saw that I was qualified for the position and granted me the opportunity.

During my tenure as clerk with the Court, Judge Southwick thought through every issue and took every case seriously. He earned a reputation for his well thought out opinions and his ability to produce the highest number of opinions in a term. It did not matter the parties' affiliation, color, or stature--what mattered was what the law said and Judge Southwick worked very hard to apply it fairly. Judge Southwick valued my opinions and included me in all of the discussions of issues presented for decision. Having worked closely with Judge Southwick, I have no doubt that he is fair, impartial, and has all of the other qualities necessary to be an excellent addition to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

In addition to serving our State, Judge Southwick has also honorably served our country. During his mission to Iraq in 2005, Southwick found the time to write me often to let me know about his experiences there. Upon his return to the United States, Judge Southwick shared with others his humbling experience serving our country. It is clear from his writings and speaking that he served with pride and dignity.

Over the years, Judge Southwick has earned the reputation of being a person of high morals, dignity, and fairness. It is unfortunate that there are some who have made him the chosen sacrifice to promote agendas and have set out to taint all that Judge Southwick has worked so hard to accomplish. I am prayerful that those efforts will not preclude Judge Southwick from serving as our next Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

If additional information is needed, please feel free to contact me.

Yours truly,
A. LA'VERNE EDNEY.

Mr. SPECTER. I also ask unanimous consent that the following statement highlighting praise for Judge Southwick be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

Support for Leslie Southwick

Simply listening to those who know Judge Southwick best makes it easy to understand why the American Bar Association unanimously concluded that he is ``Well Qualified'' to serve on the Circuit Court. Judge Southwick is free from bias and committed to equal justice under the law.

La'Verne Edney, a distinguished African-American woman who is a partner at a prominent Jackson, Mississippi law firm, a member of the Magnolia Bar Association, the Mississippi Women Lawyers' Association and a member of the Mississippi Task Force for Gender Fairness, has shared her compelling story of Judge Southwick giving her an opportunity when few would:

``When I finished law school ..... I believed that my chances for landing a clerkship were slim because there was only one African-American Court of Appeals judge on the bench at the time and there were very few Caucasian judges during the history of the Mississippi Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals ..... who had ever hired African-American law clerks. . . . While Judge Southwick had many applicants to choose from, he saw that I was qualified for the position and granted me the opportunity.''

As a clerk, Ms. Edney observed, ``It did not matter the parties' affiliation, color or stature--what mattered was what the law said and Judge Southwick worked very hard to apply it fairly. Judge Southwick valued my opinions and included me in all of the discussions of issues presented for discussion. Having worked closely with Judge Southwick, I have no doubt that he is fair, impartial, and has all of the other qualities necessary to be an excellent addition to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.''

Patrick E. Beasley, a practicing attorney in Jackson, Mississippi, who also happens to be African American, endorsed Judge Southwick for, among other qualities, his fairness to minorities. Beasley wrote, ``I speak from personal experience that Leslie Southwick is a good man who has been kind to me for no ulterior reason. I am not from an affluent family and have no political ties. While I graduated in the top third of my law school class, there were many individuals in my class with higher grade point averages and with family `pedigrees' to match. Yet, despite all of the typical requirements for the clerkship that I lacked, Judge Southwick gave me an opportunity. Despite all the press to the contrary, Judge Southwick is a fair man and this is one of the qualities that

[Page: S9312]makes him an excellent choice for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.''
Jose Alberto Cantu, a self-described lifelong Democrat, expressed outrage over what he considered to be the unfair characterization of his friend from Edinburg, Texas. After reading an article in the Houston Chronicle, he wrote, ``I was shocked to read about the opposition to his nomination on this basis [race]. I was a classmate of Judge Southwick in high school and knew him very well. I always found him to be extremely polite and absolutely fair with everyone. What the paper and the political activist referenced in the article imply is that Judge Southwick is a racist because of the ruling on the Court. This is absolutely ridiculous and totally unfair. The Valley has a large Hispanic population, and Leslie never showed the type of discriminatory attitudes that were implied in the article. To the contrary, I remember him as treating everyone fairly and with respect.''

John C. Hengan, a lifelong Democrat and former Chief of Staff to a Democratic Governor of Mississippi strongly refutes the mischaracterizations of Judge Southwick's character. ``I cannot disagree more strongly with the personal attacks that are being made against his character, integrity, or fitness for office, or about his commitment to civil rights for all people regardless of their race, color, sex, creed, religion, or national origin. It is an abomination that he should have to experience these unfair and unjust personal attacks because they are quite simply untrue and cannot be made by anyone who has had the opportunity to meet, work, or be around Leslie for even an abbreviated period of time.''

Former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James L. Robertson, who has known Judge Southwick for 20 years, attests to the judge's commitment to fairness. He observed, ``Importantly, there is not a hint of racism in Judge Southwick's being. I am certain that Chief Judge Leslie D. King, and Judge Tyree Irving, his two African-American colleagues on the Court of Appeals with whom Judge Southwick served for many years, would be the first to tell you this, were they not prohibited [by judicial ethics canons] from such endorsements. ..... It is common knowledge in this area that I do not support President Bush on very many of his policy initiatives. I voted for Vice President Gore in 2000, and I voted for Senator Kerry in 2004. But even a blind hog will root up an acorn every once in a while. Judge Leslie Southwick just might turn out to be a golden nugget.''

Phillip L. McIntosh, Associate Dean at the Mississippi College School of Law, noted that Judge Southwick was unanimously approved for a faculty position by ``a politically and racially diverse faculty'' and that ``not one note of concern about Judge Southwick's integrity, fairness, or impartiality was sounded.''

Robert H Canizaro, a self-described ``Liberal Democrat,'' expressed his ``strong[ ] support'' for Judge Southwick as ``an intelligent, dedicated, hard working, moderate judge who respects the rights of all.'' Canizaro stated that the New York Times's suggestion to the contrary is ``ludicrous.''

Judge Southwick's temperament is what we hope for in a federal judge.

Justice Kay B. Cobb, former Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi, has written, ``Judge Southwick's scholarship and character are stellar. The opinions he wrote during his ten years on the Mississippi Court of Appeals reflect his thoroughness and fairness as well as the depth of his knowledge and the quality and clarity of his reasoning and writing. ..... His awareness and attention to promoting fairness and equality with regard to race and gender are exemplary. Our country needs conscientious and independent judges of impeccable integrity and I cannot think of anyone who better qualifies for this appointment!''

Jim Rosenblatt, Dean of the Mississippi College of Law, wrote, ``In all my dealings with Leslie Southwick he has shown himself to be respectful of others no matter their station in life, their religious convictions, or their ethnic background. He takes a genuine interest in people and spends a great deal of time listening to others and little time talking about himself. He is modest and self-effacing .....''

Bronson E. Newburger, who worked with Judge Southwick on the Board of the Jackson Servant Leadership Corps, an organization that places recent college graduates in a communal home where they can devote themselves full time to serving the underprivileged in the inner city, came to know Judge Southwick well. ``I found him to be levelheaded, sensitive, and compassionate ..... He is a decent, fair, and compassionate public servant dedicated to equal rights and protections for all.

David J. Anderson, a retired career civil servant who worked with Judge Southwick at the Justice Department, was similarly impressed with Judge Southwick's character. Mr. Anderson, who describes himself as ``a Democrat'' who is ``moderate to liberal'' in his politics, wrote ``I have to say that Leslie Southwick was an outstanding public servant, head and shoulders above most political appointees I served with during my 35 years in government. He was intelligent, thoughtful, fair minded, and devoted to the rule of law. He was no ideologue. I never saw him make a decision on any basis other than the merits of a particular issue or problem.''

Mr. SPECTER. How much time remains, Mr. President?

The PRESIDING OFFICER. A little more than 3 minutes.

Mr. SPECTER. In conclusion, in the last 3 1/2 minutes I have, I wish to point out what has happened in this matter.

Chairman Leahy advised me this nomination would go through the Judiciary Committee on a voice vote. Then, when that effort was made, Senator Feingold objected and any member of the Judiciary Committee has the right to hold over a nominee for 1 week. So, it did not go through on a voice vote, notwithstanding the fact that Senator Leahy, the chairman, said that was his plan.

Senator McConnell has advised that the majority leader, Senator Reid, had said the nomination would be confirmed before the Memorial Day recess, which is some time ago now. So, this nomination was on the brink of confirmation, according to the chairman's statement that it would go through committee on a voice vote. He didn't expect someone to raise an objection, and he was powerless to move it on a voice vote once an objection was raised, but that was his expectation and mine.

And, as I said, the majority leader told the Republican leader there would be a confirmation before the Memorial Day recess.

It is my hope we will not allow partisanship to once again grip this body. This Senate, under Republican control, wouldn't give hearings to President Clinton's nominees and wouldn't bring them up for floor votes. I objected to that, bucking my party, crossing party lines, and voting for Clinton nominees.

We had protracted filibusters in 2004 and threats of the Constitutional--or ``nuclear''--option. I hope we do not go back to that. This body, as we all know, works on unanimous consent. Any Senator can raise an objection to dispensing with a reading of an amendment or a reading of the record, as we saw during the immigration debate, and can tie up this Senate endlessly if someone wants to impede the work of the Senate. It is my hope we will not descend to that.

We have very important matters to take up--Iraq, the Department of Defense reauthorization bill, the override of the President's veto on stem cells, and many appropriations bills. This man, Judge Southwick--I have gone through his record in detail. My own record on the Judiciary Committee is one of nonpartisanship. If I have found nominees submitted by Republican Presidents to be objectionable, I have not hesitated to say so. But this man has an impeccable record, an outstanding record, with 985 authored opinions. The two opinions that have been called into question are opinions which he didn't write, but merely joined, on matters which--while they might have been articulated differently, might have been more sensitive--certainly are not disqualifiers. This man ought to be confirmed. I have taken the time to go into some detail on his record because I have told my colleagues about his record and many people have been surprised there is controversy.

I thank the distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania for sitting overtime and my colleague from Minnesota for her patience--I think she has been patient--and yield the floor.