Russ Feingold: “I will vote to confirm Judge Edith Brown Clement to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today, but I do so…”

“I will vote to confirm Judge Edith Brown Clement to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today, but I do so with some reservations. I rise today to discuss my concerns for the record and to comment on the issue of privately funded judicial education about which I questioned Judge Clement. Judge Clement has served for nearly a decade as a U.S. district judge in Louisiana. She is supported by my two colleagues from Louisiana and received a 'well-qualified' rating from a majority of the ABA's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. There is nothing in her record as a judge that gives me reason not to support her nomination. At Judge Clement's hearing before the Judiciary Committee, Senator Kohl asked her two questions concerning her attendance at a number of judicial education seminars sponsored by free-market economics organizations.”