Before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Hearing on the Nominations of:

Edith Brown Clement, for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
Karen K. Caldwell, for the Eastern District of Kentucky
Laurie Smith Camp, for the District of Nebraska
Claire V. Eagan, for the Northern District of Oklahoma
James H. Payne, for the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma
Jay S. Bybee, to be the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel

It is both an honor and a pleasure to be here this afternoon with six extremely well-qualified nominees for important positions in the Federal Judiciary and the Department of Justice. I congratulate all of you on being selected by President Bush to serve in high office. After reviewing your distinguished records, I have no doubt that you will do great service for the citizens of this country upon confirmation.

Edith Brown Clement, our nominee for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, has distinguished herself – among many other ways – as a prolific writer of opinions as a Judge on the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. During the past decade in that position, Judge Clement has authored over 1,300 opinions – and only 17 – a minute fraction – of those were reversed, partially reversed, remanded, or vacated. That's an astonishing record. Judge Clement is particularly known for her expertise in the fields of admiralty and maritime law. She will make an excellent addition to the Fifth Circuit Court.

Karen Caldwell, the nominee for the Eastern District of Kentucky, also has a background of distinguished federal government service. She spent six years in the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky – working her way up from Assistant U.S. Attorney, then Chief of Financial Litigation, then Chief of General Civil Litigation, and was then appointed by former President Bush to be the United States Attorney for that District. She is well prepared for her new role as a District Judge.

Our next nominee, Laurie Smith Camp, will also make a superb judge – for the District of Nebraska. Ms. Camp's 24-year legal career has included private practice, government service, and a great deal of community service as well. Since graduating from Stanford University and the University of Nebraska College of Law – where she served as editor-in-chief of the Nebraska Law Review – she has personally handled over 500 cases in state and federal courts, and thousands of administrative proceedings, in her roles as private practitioner, as General Counsel to Nebraska's Department of Corrections, and as the Nebraska Attorney General's chief for both civil rights and for criminal matters.

Judge Claire V. Eagan, our nominee for the Northern District of Oklahoma, is another law review editor – this time for the Fordham Law Review at Fordham University. Since that auspicious beginning to her legal career, Judge Eagan has served as a law clerk to the Chief Judge for the court to which she now has been nominated, has worked in private practice, and has earned an outstanding reputation as a Magistrate Judge. Judge Eagan's activities in the bar and the community are just as impressive as her career.

It appears that our final judicial nominee, Judge James H. Payne, is someone who transcends the typical lines – that must be why he's been nominated to be a judge for three federal districts: the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma. That is also why, as U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Oklahoma since October 1988, Judge Payne has – by consent of the parties – made final dispositions of more than 800 cases. Judge Payne has clearly earned the trust of Oklahomans as a judge and as a leader in Alternative Dispute Resolution, and I am pleased that he – like the rest of our judicial nominees here today – will be able to take his experience and skills into a new forum for serving the citizens of the United States.

Last but certainly not least, we have the nomination of Jay S. Bybee to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel. Professor Bybee graduated cum laude from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University (which is a sufficient credential by itself in my opinion), and then went on to a prestigious clerkship and a prominent law firm. He then served in the Department of Justice as an attorney-advisor in the Office of Legal Policy and worked on the appellate staff in the civil division. He also worked as an associate White House counsel before becoming a professor of law. He will be a great addition to the Department.

Again, it is a great pleasure to welcome all of you to the Committee. I look forward to this hearing, and to working with Chairman Leahy and others to make sure the Committee and the full Senate hold timely votes on your nominations.

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