The United States Senate voted this evening to confirm the nomination of Mr. Rick Clifton of Hawaii to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The statement of U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) in support of confirming the nomination follows:

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today in support of the nomination of Mr. Rick Clifton to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. President, I commend our Majority Leader, the Deputy Majority Leader, and the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee for the progress made on judicial nominations during the 107th Congress. Mr. President, Hawaii has waited a number of years for Senate confirmation of a Hawaii resident for a position on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In 1995, I introduced legislation to require representation on the court from each state within the jurisdiction of the court. We have waited many years for this opportunity. I am pleased that Hawaii will finally have a Justice on the Ninth Circuit.

Rick Clifton has had a distinguished legal career. The Hawaii State Bar Association found him to be highly qualified for this position. A graduate of Princeton University, he received his juris doctorate from Yale Law School in 1975. Mr. Clifton has practiced law in Hawaii since 1975 and has been a partner with the law firm of Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright in Honolulu, Hawaii, since 1982. He has extensive legal experience in civil litigation, primarily business and commercial litigation. I believe he will be an asset to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and urge my colleagues to support his nomination.

Mr. President, the confirmation of Mr. Clifton will help to alleviate hardships confronting the Ninth Circuit brought about by four long-term vacancies on the Court. A number of these vacancies date back over five years, spanning a period where the previous Senate majority refused to act on these judicial emergencies despite President Clinton's nominations of several well-qualified individuals supported by their home-state Senators and local legal communities.

I congratulate and commend Chairman Leahy for his leadership in working to confirm qualified nominees to the federal bench and rectify the doubling in circuit court vacancies that occurred between 1995 and 2001. In this instance, the Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing on Mr. Clifton's nomination less than 60 days after his file and paperwork were completed. As both Chairman and Ranking Member, Senator Leahy has worked with Senator Inouye and me to fill the Hawaii seat on the Ninth Circuit. I appreciate his commitment to ensure that every state is represented on our Courts of Appeals.

As the Chairman recently noted, Mr. Clifton's confirmation concludes a long and regrettable saga in confirming a qualified nominee from Hawaii. In 1999, the President nominated James Duffy of Hawaii to the Ninth Circuit. He was selected after an exhaustive screening process, following an admirable effort by the White House to consult widely with political, legal, and community leaders in Hawaii. Mr. Duffy was endorsed as "the best of the best" by the Hawaii State Bar Association. Despite his sterling reputation, the nomination languished for 791 days in the Judiciary Committee without ever receiving a hearing. Mr. Duffy is one of the well-qualified and talented men and women nominated by the President to the Ninth Circuit and other Courts of Appeals, individuals with bipartisan and home-state support whose nominations were never acted on by the Senate.

I mention this unfortunate chapter not to air past grievances, but to underscore the challenges facing the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Majority Leader in bringing nominations before the Senate for action. In an exceptionally evenhanded manner, they have worked to overcome the partisanship and stalling practices that precipitated many of the judicial emergencies and vacancies some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have recently come to this floor to decry.

Mr. President, today's confirmation vote for Mr. Clifton's nomination attests to the fairness that the Majority Leader and Senator from Vermont have restored to the judicial confirmation process in the past year. I thank them for their support.