Executive Session - Nomination of John W. Woodcock to be United States District Judge for the District of Maine

EXECUTIVE SESSION
NOMINATION OF JOHN W. WOODCOCK TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, for the information of my colleagues, Executive Item No. 223 is the nomination of John Woodcock to be a District Judge for the District of Maine. I am very pleased to rise tonight to speak on his behalf. Maine's senior Senator, Olympia Snowe, and I are very proud to have recommended John for this prestigious position on the Federal bench.

I have known John Woodcock for many years. John, in fact, recruited me several years ago to serve as a trustee on the board of the Eastern Maine Medical Center, which he has chaired for 23 years. This is typical of John's service to his community. He has devoted countless hours volunteering his time and energy to his alma mater, Bowdoin College; Eastern Maine Charities; the Maine State Commission on Arts and Humanities; the Good Samaritan Agency; and the Bangor Children's Home, to name just a few.

The Woodcock family has a proud tradition of public service that spans generations. In fact, two of John's sons have served as members of my staff. Jack currently serves on my Governmental Affairs Committee staff, while Patrick works as a college intern in my Bangor office. I once remarked to John—and repeated it at the Judiciary Committee hearing, which the Presiding Officer chaired that day—that his sons' hard work and professional demeanor were proof that the apple does not fall far from the tree. After the hearing, John wrote to me, in his typically gracious and unassuming and self-effacing way, and said in his mind the tree has always been his wife, Beverly.

Lest John's modesty hide his extensive accomplishments, let me take just a moment to share with my colleagues his qualifications to be a Federal judge.

John began practicing law nearly 30 years ago and has built a distinguished career as a litigator. He has served as an assistant district attorney for the State of Maine and has worked in private practice as an associate and as a partner of several law firms in the great State of Maine.

In 1991, he joined several colleagues to form the Bangor law firm of Weatherbee, Woodcock, Burlock & Woodcock.
During his career, John has served as lead counsel in 47 separate appeals to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on issues ranging from trust law to criminal law.

John has also taken an active role in improving the standards of the legal profession, serving, for example, on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's Advisory Committee on Professional Responsibility. As a member of this committee, John worked to draft a series of aspirational goals to help guide lawyers who elect to advertise with their professional obligations in this area.

Those of us who are familiar with John Woodcock's sterling character and stellar legal career were not surprised when the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary unanimously rated him as "well qualified"—the highest possible rating. Indeed, it would be difficult for Senator Snowe and I to come up with another candidate better suited to serve as a Federal judge in the State of Maine.

The Senate Judiciary Committee also voted unanimously to approve his nomination on June 5.

Mr. President, John has the legal excellence, the temperament, and the integrity to serve on the Federal bench. I have every confidence he will faithfully follow the law as interpreted by higher courts and that he will bring justice to the parties before him.

I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically support John Woodcock's nomination for a Federal district court judgeship, and I urge my colleagues, in voting this evening, to confirm this terrific individual.