Political Quotes

“Mr. President, later we will be voting on a judge for the Eastern District of Missouri. I come to the Senate floor today to explain why, regrettably, I am unable to support the nominee. As my colleagues know, Justice Ronnie White was originally nominated by President Clinton during the 105th Congress. This body voted on and rejected his nomination in 1999. After careful consideration of his record, I voted against Justice White's nomination at that time. Since 1999, Justice White completed a term as chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court and has returned to private practice. So today I would like to revisit a few aspects of Justice White's legal and judicial career that first led me to vote against his nomination. I will also discuss developments since 1999. Unfortunately, his record since that time has only reinforced my concerns. First, I begin with some troubling aspects of Justice White's record during his days on the Missouri Supreme Court in the 1990s. I only need to point to a few cases to illustrate my concerns. In the 1998 Johnson case, Justice White was the sole dissenter on the State's high court. It was a capital appeal case involving a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The case was heartbreaking. The defendant shot four people to death--three Missouri sheriffs and one of the sheriffs' wives. The facts were stark and very clear-cut. This was not a close case. The defendant was convicted based upon the overwhelming evidence of his guilt.…”