Bob Dole: “it is my privilege to support Jim Dever for a seat on the U.S. district court in Eastern North Carolina. This seat has…”

“it is my privilege to support Jim Dever for a seat on the U.S. district court in Eastern North Carolina. This seat has been vacant for 6 years and is considered a judicial emergency by the Judicial Conference. In fact, a vote for Jim Dever will end the longest district court vacancy in the United States. Jim Dever, who is an outstanding editor in chief of the Duke University law Journal, lives in Raleigh and currently serves as U.S. magistrate judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Raleigh, the State's capital and the district's largest city, is without a resident district court judge. Elevating Jim to the district court will end this problem. Not one objection has been raised about Jim Dever's qualifications. He has broad bipartisan support. Robinson Everett, a Duke law professor and former Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, describes Jim Dever as having ``all the requisite qualities.'' ``He will be a `superb jurist.''' I am also delighted to support Bob Conrad, nominated in April 2003, to be U.S. district judge for the Western District of North Carolina. Bob is sorely needed. As our courts confront the ramifications of the Supreme Court's recent decision on the Federal minimum sentence guidelines, it is reasonable to expect we will have even higher caseloads and need more judges to deal with them.…”