Nomination of Michael H. Schneider, Sr., to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas
NOMINATION OF MICHAEL H. SCHNEIDER, SR., TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I want to express my strong support for the nomination of Justice Michael Schneider to serve on
the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
First, I say thank you to the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch, as well as the ranking member, Senator Leahy, for working with us to try to fill this important vacancy in the Eastern District of Texas.
The vacancy that will be filled by this nomination was created by the untimely passing of Chief Judge John H. Hannah, Jr. Judge Hannah was a good man and a distinguished jurist. His family's loss was also a great loss to the State of Texas.
I have enjoyed working with Judge Hannah throughout his career. I recall working with him on a variety of matters when he served as secretary of state of Texas from 1991 to 1994. And Senator HUTCHISON and I worked closely with him just last year on legislation to authorize the Eastern District of Texas to hold court in the city of Plano. That bill, S. 1720, was important to Judge Hannah, who always worked hard to serve the citizens of the Eastern District. He passed away the day after the President signed that legislation into law.
The death of Judge Hannah leaves some big shoes to fill, but President Bush could not have filled them better than with the nomination of Texas Supreme Court Judge Michael Haygood Schneider.
Justice Schneider will bring to the Federal district court the wisdom, judgment, and experience of over a quarter century of service on the bench. He understands-as any good judge must-that the duty of a judge is to interpret the law, not to legislate from the bench.
Justice Schneider has held virtually every position in the State court system that Texas has to offer. From 1978 to 1990, he served on the West University Place Municipal Court. Then, he served on the 157th District Court of Texas, located in Houston, until 1996. Next, he became Chief Justice of the First Court of Appeals in Houston. He served there until 2002, when he was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, where I once served. He has been honored as both Trial Judge of the Year and Appellate Judge of the Year by the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists.
In addition to this extraordinary record of judicial service, Justice Schneider also served the people of Texas in the role of Assistant District Attorney for Harris County. Justice Schneider is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, the University of Houston College of Law, and-more recently-the LL.M. program of the University of Virginia Law School. And he has a distinguished record of civic involvement.
Justice Schneider's reputation as an exceptional jurist and a true gentleman is well known throughout the State of Texas. It is also well known by the American Bar Association, which gave him its highest rating, when its standing committee on the Federal Judiciary unanimously certified him as "well qualified" for the Federal bench. And his nomination enjoys broad bipartisan support across the State of Texas. For example, Susan Hays, who chairs the Dallas County Democratic Party, has written a strong letter of support.
Justice Schneider is also a humble man. His profile on the Texas Supreme Court's website points out that "[h]e held a variety of jobs during college and law school," including "searching titles at a major oil company, managing apartments, driving ambulances, operating a school bus for disabled children, working at a funeral home, teaching school, delivering milk, clerking for a law firm, managing a college cafeteria, serving as a waiter, bell hopping at a hotel, and serving as an intern at the United States Attorney's Office." I'm tempted to ask him which of these jobs best prepares him for life as a Federal district judge.
I am pleased that the President has nominated Justice Schneider to serve on the Eastern District of Texas, and I look forward to his service on the Federal bench in the great State of Texas.
Daniel Webster said that justice is the greatest desire of man on Earth. It is, I suppose, the reverence we have for the aspiration of justice that we honor men and women by allowing them to wear a black robe and to judge us.
Justice Schneider, as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee has already noted, has had a distinguished judicial career of having served at all levels of the Texas State judiciary. Beyond that, Justice Schneider has a reputation for being a gentleman, being an honorable person and one who will do well in this important position.
I ask my colleagues to support this nomination. I say how delighted I am, given this late point in the year when many judicial nominations would not ordinarily be brought up, that there has been bipartisan consensus that this good man and this good judge be put up for an up-or-down vote.
I also ask unanimous consent to print in the RECORD a letter from the Dallas County Democratic Party.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
DALLAS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY,
July 6, 2004.
Chairman ORRIN G. HATCH,
Senator PATRICK J. LEAHY,
Senator JOHN CORNYN,
Members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
Re Nomination of Michael H. Schneider, Sr. for the United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE: I WRITE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONFIRM THE NOMINATION OF JUSTICE SCHNEIDER. AS THE DALLAS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CHAIR, I SUPPORTED JUSTICE LINDA YAñEZ, JUSTICE SCHNEIDER'S OPPONENT IN HIS 2002 RACE FOR THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT. DURING THAT ELECTION SEASON I LEARNED A GREAT DEAL ABOUT JUSTICE SCHNEIDER, NAMELY HOW WELL-REGARDED AND WELL-RESPECTED HE IS BY THE BENCH AND THE BAR IN TEXAS. EVEN THE PLAINTIFF'S BAR IN HOUSTON, JUSTICE SCHNEIDER'S HOME BASE, SUPPORTED HIS RACE OUT OF RESPECT FOR HIS DEDICATION TO FOLLOWING THE LAW.
DURING HIS TENURE ON THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT I HAVE FOLLOWED HIS PERFORMANCE CLOSELY. (I SERVED AS A LAW CLERK ON THE COURT DURING THE 1997-1998 TERM, AND SPECIALIZE IN CIVIL APPELLATE WORK IN MY LAW PRACTICE.) WHILE ON THE COURT HE HAS BEEN A VOICE OF MODERATION AND JUDICIAL CONSERVATISM. IN THE MANY CONVERSATIONS I HAVE HAD WITH TEXAS APPELLATE LAWYERS-OF ALL POLITICAL PERSUASIONS-THE OVERWHELMING CONSENSUS IS THAT JUSTICE SCHNEIDER HAS DONE A WONDERFUL JOB ON THE COURT AND FULLY DESERVES TO BE ELEVATED TO THE FEDERAL BENCH. JUSTICE SCHNEIDER IS DEDICATED TO THE RULE OF LAW AND THE INTEGRITY OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM. THE ONLY RESERVATION I HAVE ABOUT HIS NOMINATION IS THAT I HATE TO LOSE HIS INFLUENCE ON THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT. IN ADDITION TO BEING A DEMOCRAT, I AM A MEMBER OF THE TEXAS TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION AND THE DALLAS TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION. SPEAKING BOTH AS A DEMOCRAT AND AS A PLAINTIFF'S LAWYER, I URGE THE COMMITTEE TO CONFIRM JUSTICE SCHNEIDER.
WHILE MUCH HAS BEEN MADE IN THE PRESS ABOUT PARTISAN GRIDLOCK OVER JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS, AS A PARTISAN LEADER AND AS A LAWYER I KNOW THERE ARE TIMES THE PARTIES SHOULD COME TOGETHER TO SUPPORT A NOMINEE. THIS IS SUCH A TIME. I URGE THE COMMITTEE TO VOTE ON JUSTICE SCHNEIDER'S NOMINATION AT WEDNESDAY'S HEARING. A QUICK VOTE IS CRITICAL THIS LATE IN AN ELECTION YEAR. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT MY SUPPORT OF HIS NOMINATION, PLEASE CALL ME AT 214-557-4819.
Sincerely,
SUSAN HAYS,
Chair.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I had a chance to speak earlier in support of this wonderful nomination, Judge Mike Schneider. I join my colleague in encouraging each of our colleagues to vote for him.
I also want to say how much I appreciate the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and Chairman Hatch for making this vote possible tonight. I urge my colleagues to vote for the nomination.