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[Page S3074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NOMINATION OF JUSTIN REED WALKER
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on one final matter, later today, the
Senate will confirm Judge Justin Walker of Kentucky to join the DC
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Now, as I have noted in just the last several weeks, Judge Walker has
given the Senate several new reasons to support his nomination to the
second most important Federal bench.
In testimony before our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, he
demonstrated an impressive grasp of legal precedent. At his current
post as district judge for the Western District of Kentucky, he
eloquently applied this understanding to uphold Americans' religious
liberty, and he earned the approval of the American Bar Association
with a rating of ``well-qualified.''
But, of course, Judge Walker's credentials were already sterling.
Long before this nominee began practicing and then applying the law, he
was collecting plaudits for his excellence at studying it.
Judge Walker, as I mentioned before, graduated from Duke University
summa cum laude, and Harvard Law School magna cum laude. Those
credentials can easily lead someone to an elite law firm in a big city,
but instead, it led Judge Walker to clerkships for then-Judge Brett
Kavanaugh and then-Justice Anthony Kennedy.
He then went back home to the University of Louisville Law School. He
quickly became a star faculty member, producing distinguished
scholarship on a wide range of legal issues. Once Judge Walker took his
current seat on the bench for the Western District of Kentucky, he
wasted no time building an equally strong reputation for the fairness
and open-mindedness that Americans deserve from their judges.
In one letter to our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, 100
practicing lawyers from across Kentucky said:
If Judge Walker is confirmed, we could give our clients an
assessment of him for which any judge should strive: he is
sharp, fair, and will follow the law.
In another letter, 16 different State attorneys general told us:
As someone from outside the Beltway with a commitment to
the rule of law, we know that Judge Walker will listen to the
arguments of advocates appearing before him, that he will
weigh the facts against the law as it is written (and not as
he wishes it to be), and that he will fairly decide those
cases based upon controlling precedent.
These glowing assessments are not from elite corporate counsel or
frequent flyers on the DC Circuit. These are from men and women across
Kentucky and across America who have seen this man work and watched his
career.
Republican Presidents have a proud tradition of looking beyond
Washington to freshen up the DC Circuit with diverse perspectives from
across America. President Nixon thought this crucial court could use
the expertise of a Texan and a Minnesotan. President Reagan chose legal
minds from Colorado and North Carolina. President Bush 41 chose a South
Carolinian, and President Bush 43 a Californian.
So when the Senate confirms Judge Walker to this vacancy, we will not
just be promoting a widely admired legal expert and proven judge to a
role for which he is obviously qualified, we will also be adding to a
time-honored tradition of finding men and women from all across the
country to help ensure that this enormously consequential bench here in
our Nation's Capital is refreshed with talent from all parts of
America.
My fellow Kentuckians and I are sorry to part with this son in the
Bluegrass, but mostly we are proud because Judge Walker will be putting
his legal brilliance and his exceptional judicial temperament to work
not just for his home State but for our entire Nation and in even more
consequential ways. I look forward to voting to confirm Judge Justin
Walker, and I urge each of my colleagues to do the same.
____________________
