Executive Session

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I rise this afternoon, joining my colleague from Mississippi, in strong support of Debra Brown's confirmation to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. Ms. Brown was nominated in May by President Obama to fill the seat held by my friend, the late district court judge Allen Pepper.

As one of Mississippi's two U.S. Senators, I enthusiastically recommend Ms. Brown based upon her qualifications. In addition, I am thrilled and honored to be part of this historic moment for our State. If confirmed, Ms. Brown will become the first female African-American U.S. district judge in Mississippi. Making history, however, would be just the latest achievement in Ms. Brown's admirable career, which has reflected a longtime commitment to excellence--the kind of excellence her parents expected of her and her four sisters throughout their childhood. Ms. Brown would go on to make her parents proud and to be a credit to her hometown.

Sharing in this special moment today is Ms. Brown's native Yazoo City, MS. It is worth mentioning that along with Federal judges William Barbour and Carlton Reeves, Debra Brown now becomes the third district court judge in recent memory from the small town of Yazoo City.

Ms. Brown is a proven trailblazer. As my colleague just stated, she was the second African-American female to graduate from the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University and the first member of her family to earn a law degree, which she completed in 1997 from the University of Mississippi School of Law. So her confirmation today will be a source of justifiable pride for two of Mississippi's great universities. Not many lawyers in the country have degrees in architecture and in law, and indeed Debra Brown is reportedly the only practicing lawyer in Mississippi with an architectural background.

Following law school, Ms. Brown rose to become a partner in the law office of Phelps Dunbar in Jackson, MS. Since last year she has been a shareholder in the law firm of Wise Carter Child & Caraway, where she has handled a wide variety of commercial litigation matters before both Federal and State courts.

According to press reports, Ms. Brown's friends expect her to be very coordinated, very detailed, and very prepared as a judge. Ms. Brown's college dean at Mississippi State University recalled that her key character traits are perseverance, diligence, and focus. He noted that she overcame early struggles, winning the top architecture student honor--the Alpha Rho Chi Medal--in her senior year.

It is clear that Ms. Brown will bring a unique perspective to the court, drawing upon a diverse professional and educational background. I am confident her service will be good for our country, our State, and especially good for the city of Greenville, where she will preside. Having a judge who is also an architect would be particularly serendipitous for Greenville. The Federal courthouse there is woefully inadequate. The court is in desperate need of a new state-of-the-art courthouse. I am hopeful Ms. Brown's tenure will coincide with its construction.

Although Ms. Brown's law career has focused primarily on civil litigation, her dedication to her profession goes far beyond casework. From 2003 to 2004 she served as president of the Mississippi Women Lawyers Association. She was also named by the Mississippi Business Journal as one of Mississippi's 50 leading businesswomen. In addition to pro bono work, Ms. Brown serves on the board of the Mississippi Center for Justice, a public interest law firm that combats discrimination and poverty in Mississippi, and Operation Shoestring, which empowers families and children in the Jackson community. She has been endorsed by a number of prestigious organizations, including the Magnolia Bar Association, which represents minorities and other lawyers and judges throughout the State of Mississippi.

Our country needs judges who have a record of professional excellence, integrity, and public service. Ms. Brown has demonstrated this throughout her career. I urge my colleagues to vote for her confirmation for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.

I yield the floor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source