Testimony of Ronnie White

United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary

January 18, 2001

Thank you Chairman Leahy, Senator Hatch and all of the members of the Judiciary Committee for inviting me to testify today. Thank you for twice voting in favor of my nomination to the Federal District Court, in 1998 and 1999.

I appreciate this opportunity to tell my story to the United States Senate. And to reclaim my reputation as a lawyer and a judge.

It will be up to you, members of the Committee, to determine what light this narrative casts on the decision you will make in voting to confirm the next Attorney General of the United States.

I am the oldest son born to teenage parents. When I was born my mother was 16 years old and my father was 19 years old. My mother dropped out of high school in the 9^th grade to take care of me. My father worked in the post office; first as a mail sorter and then as station manager. As I grew up, I watched my mother and father work hard, play by the rules and never quite make ends meet.

We lived in an unfinished basement of a home with jagged concrete walls and without a kitchen or bathroom. I grew up in a segregated neighborhood in St. Louis.

When I was 10 years old, I was bused to a grade school in south St. Louis where kids would throw milk and food at us and tell us to go back to where we came from. This racism only strengthened my determination. I was not going to let the color of my skin - or the ignorance and hatefulness of others - hold me back. I would get the best education I could, and I would use that education to make a better life for myself, for my family and for my community.

My parents could not afford to pay for my education. Since age 11, I have always worked to earn money. I sold newspapers for half a cent each, and I was a janitor at a fast food restaurant. I worked my way through high school, college and law school. Although balancing work and school was not always easy, I struggled through and made it.

I have earned my good reputation as a lawyer and judge by earning the respect of my neighbors. I was elected to the Missouri Legislature in 1989, and when I was in the Legislature I was twice selected to be Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. As Chair of the Committee, I worked with my legislative colleagues, members of the executive branch, and citizens and law enforcement officials to strengthen the laws and the application of those laws on behalf of the people of my state.

In 1994, I was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals by Governor Mel Carnahan. One year later, Governor Carnahan appointed me to the Missouri Supreme Court. It is the law in Missouri that Supreme Court judges are voted on by the people after they have been appointed. I came up for a retention vote in 1996 and received more than one million votes.

I was the first African-American judge to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court; the first in the 175 year history of the court. Born into segregation, I broke this color barrier.

The high point of my professional life came in 1998 when President Clinton nominated me to the Federal District Court at the suggestion of then-Congressman William Clay. What an amazing feeling for the young man from the inner city of St. Louis.

At that moment, I felt that I was living the American dream. If you work hard - no matter your race, class or creed - you can succeed. This is what my parents - and millions of hard working families throughout this great country - dream of for their kids.

However, even though the American Bar Association gave me a unanimous "qualified" rating, my nomination was not confirmed. I was approved twice by this Committee, by votes of 15 to 3 and 12 to 6, but I was voted down by the United States Senate at the urging of Senator John Ashcroft.

What happened? When I came before this Committee I was introduced by Sen. Kit Bond, who urged my confirmation. Congressman Clay also introduced me and reported to this Committee that Senator Ashcroft had polled my colleagues on the Supreme Court, all of whom he had appointed when he was governor, and that they spoke highly of me and said I would make an outstanding federal judge. After the hearing we received additional follow-up questions from Senator Ashcroft. The other nominees were asked 6 questions. I was asked those questions and an additional 15. I answered those questions in a full and timely manner.

And then I learned that Senator Ashcroft was opposing me. I was very surprised to hear that he had gone to the Senate floor and called me "pro-criminal," "with a tremendous bent toward criminal activity;" that he told his colleagues that I was "against prosecutors and the culture in terms of maintaining order."

I deeply resent those baseless misrepresentations. In fact - and I want to say this as clearly as I can - my record belies these accusations.

Senator Ashcroft said on the Senate floor that I had a "serious bias" against the death penalty. According to my records, at the time of my hearing, I had voted to affirm the death penalty in 41 of 59 cases that I have heard. In 10 of the remaining 18 cases I joined a unanimous court in voting to reverse. In two other reversals, I voted with the court majority.

These are the facts: I voted with the majority of the court in 53 of 59 death penalty cases. In only 6 cases did I dissent, and in only 3 of these was I the lone dissenter.

Senator John Ashcroft has pointed to the case of State v. Johnson as the main reason he opposed my nomination. Yet this case did not appear in any of the questions he sent to me. Senator Ashcroft never raised the Johnson case with me, never questioned me about my opinion or asked me to explain my reasoning.

My dissenting opinion in this case urged a new trial, not a complete release. I based my opinion on sound and settled Constitutional law as handed down by the Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). I never disregarded the terrible violence that had been done in this case. Senator Ashcroft's rhetoric left the impression that I was calling for Johnson's release. That is just not true.

The record of this case, indeed my entire record, shows that it is not true - a record I am now glad to have the opportunity to explain to the United States Senate. My record as a judge shows that the personal attacks made on me were not true. I am proud of my record as a judge. I have lived up to the confidence expressed in me by Governor Carnahan and the people of Missouri. After decades of public service, I come before you today more committed than ever to the rule of law.

When I was 10 years old, I stood up to the bullies who made meanspirited comments and tried to drive me away. Today, I am here to stand up for my record, my reputation as a judge, and as citizen.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify today. I will be happy to take any questions that you may have.