Senate Proceeding 11-17-09 on Nov 17th, 2009 :: 0:56:45 to 1:06:55
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0:56:45 to 0:57:06( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will now be 60 minutes of debate equally divided between the senator from vermont, from alabama, mr. sessions. mr. bayh: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. bayh: thank you, mr. president. i would like to begin by thanking our colleague chairman leahy for his leadership in this area.

0:56:45 to 1:06:55( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Evan Bayh

0:57:07 to 0:57:27( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: he has been a model of decorum and patience and i am personally grateful for his leadership. my father, as you may recall, served for 18 years on the judiciary committee. i lack his patience and therefore never have, but i am very -- i admire very much senator leahy and those who helped to shepherd these judicial nominations which are unfortunately all too frequently unnecessarily contentious.

0:57:28 to 0:57:48( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: secondly, i noted the presence -- i'm sure he will be back shortly -- of our colleague senator although senator sessions and i have a disagreement over this nomination, we have worked well in many areas and i look forward to collaborating with him in the future in those many areas where we do find o agreement. today, mr. president, i find myself in agreement with my friend and colleague from my

0:57:49 to 0:58:09( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: home state of indiana, senator lugar, who yesterday on this floor issued a compelling statement in support of the nomination of david hamilton for the seventh circuit court of appeals. for all those, members of this body or those viewing us from afar who have questionsbout judge hamilton, i strongly recommend that they read senator lugar's very eloquent statement in his behalf.

0:58:10 to 0:58:31( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: he went through every suggested controversy point by point, dough bunking those who have -- debunking those who have raised concerns about judge hamilton and end up by pointing out 30 years of acquaintance with both the nominee and his family and his strong support for judge hamilton's nomination. mr. present, i rise today to speak in favor of the nomination of judge david hamilton. i join together with senator

0:58:32 to 0:58:52( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: lugar to recommend judge hamilton because i know firsthand that he is a highly capable lawyer who understands the limited role of the federal judiciary. in recent days, some of judge hamilton's critics have unfairly characterized his record and even suggested that his nomination should be filibustered. i rise today to set the record straight and hope that my colleagues will join senator

0:58:53 to 0:59:16( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: lugar and me in supporting the superbly qualified nominee. before i speak to judge hamilton's qualifications, i would like to briefly comment on the state of the judicial confirmation process generally. iny view, this process has too often become consumed by ideological conflict and partisan acrimony. this is not, i believe, how the framers intended u to exercise

0:59:17 to 0:59:37( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: our responsibility to advise and consent. during the last congress, i was proud to work with senator lugar to recomnd john tinder as a bipartisan nominee for the seventh circuit. judge tinder was nominated by president bush and unanimously confirmed by the senate by a vote of 93-0. it was my fervent hope that judge tinder's confirmation could serve as an example of

0:59:38 to 0:59:58( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: what could happen when two senators from different parties work together to recommend a qualified, nonideological jurist to the federal bench. i k -- i know president obama agrees with this approach. his decision was proof that he wanted to change the approach of working across party lines to

0:59:59 to 1:00:19( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: select consensus nominees. on the merits, judge hamilton is an accomplished jurist who is well qualified to be elevated to the appellate bench. he served with distinction as united states district judge for over 15 years, presiding over approximately 8,000 cases. he is the chief judge of the southern district of indiana where he has been widely praised

1:00:20 to 1:00:40( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: for effective leadership. throughout his career, judge hamilton has demonstrated the highest ethical standards and a firm commitment to applying our country's laws fairly and faithfully. in recommending judge hamilton, i have the benefit of being able to speak from psonal experience because he was my legal counsel when i had the privil

1:00:41 to 1:01:01( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: indiana's governor. if you ask hoosiers about my eight years as government, you will find agreement that we tried to chart a moderate, practical and bipartisan course. as my counsel, david hamilton helped me to craft bipartisan solutions to some of the most pressing problems facing our state. he helped resolve several major lawsuits that threatened our

1:01:02 to 1:01:24( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: state's financial condition. he wrote a ethics policy to ensure our state government was operating openly and honestly. in addition to his insightful legal analysis, i could count on david hamilton for his sound judgment and the commonsense hoosier values he learned growing up in southern indiana. like most hoosiers, david

1:01:25 to 1:01:45( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: hamilton is not an ideologue. judge hamilton also developed a deep appreciation for the separation of powers and appropriate role of the different branches of government. if confirmed, he will bring to the seventh circuit a unique understanding of the important role of the states in our federal system and will be ever mindful of the appropriate role of the federal judiciary. he understands the appropriate

1:01:46 to 1:02:07( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: role for a judge is to interpret our laws, not to write them. despite judge hamilton's long record as a thoughtful, nonideological jurist, his critics sought to portr him as a -- quote -- "activist jud hostile to religion."

1:02:08 to 1:02:29( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: i have no doubt these are directed at his father, a minister at a church in indianapolis. it is in the world of washington, d.c. that the humble son of an indiana pastor can be turned into a partisan zealot hostile to religion. david hamilton is not. to my mind this says more about

1:02:30 to 1:02:51( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: the sad state of our judicial confirmation process than they do about judge hamilton. some of his critics suggested his nomination reaches the level of -- quote -- "extraordinary circumstances justifying a filibuster." ness a nominee jointly recommended to the president by a moderate democrat and the senate's senior republican f. this nomination constitutes extraordinary circumstances,

1:02:52 to 1:03:13( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: then that phrase ceases to have any meaning whatsoever. i sincerely hope that all involved will agree to give judge hamilton an up-or-down vote that he so clearly deserves. if not, i fear that filibusters will become routine with regard to judicial nominees. that is not the way our intent -- our framers intended us to operate nor one that we should.

1:03:14 to 1:03:34( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: on a personal note, i have known judge david hamilton for over 20 years. i know him to be a doted father, a devoted husband to his wife and a loving father to his two daughters. he is the nephew of former congressman lee hamilton, a man whose integrity is beyond reproach. as someone who personally knows and trusts judge hamilton, i say

1:03:35 to 1:03:57( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: to my colleagues that he is the embodiment of good judicial temperament, intellect and evenhandedness. if confirmed, he will be a superb decision to the seventh circuit court of appeals. i urge my colleagues to join me and senator lugar in supporting this extremely well-qualified and deserving nominee. before i end, mr. president, let

1:03:58 to 1:04:18( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: me just say a couple of additional things. david hamilton has been subjected to a number of unfounded attacks. probably the most ludicrous of which is that he is antireligion in general and hostile to jesus christ in particular. as i mentioned, his father was a 40-year methodist pastor. david hamilton was baptized,

1:04:19 to 1:04:39( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: married by his father in a religious christian ceremony and when he took the oath offfice to serve as federal district court judge, he placed his hand on the bible, old and new testament alike. he is not hostile to religion. he is not hostile to jesus christ. that charge is unfounded. likewise, it has been suggested

1:04:40 to 1:05:02( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: that judge hamilton is in some way soft on crime. a particular case has been cited involving child pornography. i find this to beuite ironic since hamilton sentenced the accused to the maximum sentence allowed by law. the maximum sentence allowed by law. not one day less. he has had the responsibility of handing down 700 criminal

1:05:03 to 1:05:23( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: sentences in his time on the bench. 700. the justice department two. a mere fraction of 1%. judge hamilton is not soft on crime. finally, it's been suggested that judge hamilton is a judicial activist. a case in our state involving abortion rights has been cited in that regard.

1:05:24 to 1:05:44( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: i find that to be ironic as well, mr. president, because the president of the indiana federalist society, an organization not known for embracing activist judges, has strongly endorsed judge hamilton's nomination saying -- and i quote -- "i regard judge hamilton as an excellent jurist with a first-rate intellect.

1:05:45 to 1:06:05( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: he's unfailingly polite to lawmakers asks tough questions to both sides. his judicial philosophy is to the left of center but well within theainstream." that is the position of jeffrey slau indiana's federalist society. so, i find this set of circumstances to be most unfortunate.

1:06:06 to 1:06:27( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: david hamilton is superbly qualified, and i think this is more than anything else a comment on the sad state judicial nominating process where the man has been caricatured out of reality. i'm afraid that filibusters of judicial nominations will become routine on the floor of the united states senate.

1:06:28 to 1:06:49( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: that would not be good for this body or good for our country. i hope we do not go there today. again, i urge my colleagues to join with me and senator lugar in strongly invoking cloture on this nomination and voting to confirm him to the court of appeals. and in conclusion, let me say i'm glad to see senator sessions once again. i noted our many areas of agreement.

1:06:50 to 1:06:56( Edit History Discussion )

Evan Bayh: i applauded working with you on many occasions in the past and i'm confident in the future even as we have a difference of