Robert J. Conrad
Encyclopedia
Robert James Conrad, Jr. (born 1958 in Chicago, Illinois) is a federal judge
on the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
to take the place of the retired James Dickson Phillips, Jr.
in 1980 and the University of Virginia Law School in 1983. Conrad served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina from 2001 until 2004. Prior to his appointment as U.S. Attorney, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the same district for twelve years (1989–2001).
As a U.S. attorney, he has prosecuted cases of terrorism financing and campaign finance. Attorney General
Janet Reno
named Conrad as head of her campaign finance task force that investigated fund-raising improprieties during the 1996 U.S. election campaigns
. He is best known for recommending an independent counsel be named to investigate then Vice President Al Gore
.
During the Bush Administration
, Attorney General John Ashcroft
appointed Conrad as the head of the Advisory Committee on Terrorism Financing. He was instrumental in prosecuting supporters of the Hezbollah terrorist cell in North Carolina.
Conrad was confirmed April 28, 2005 as a U.S. district court
judge for the Western District of North Carolina
, and became Chief Judge
of the district in 2006.
to a controversial North Carolina
seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
vacated by Judge James Dickson Phillips, Jr.
in 1994.
Originally, President George H. W. Bush
nominated Terrence Boyle
to a Fourth Circuit seat, but the Senate Democrats who were in control of the 102nd Congress refused to process his nomination. During his two-term administration, President Bill Clinton
tried to integrate the Fourth Circuit by filling the seat with two African-American jurists, first James A. Beaty, Jr.
and secondly James A. Wynn, Jr.
. Because Clinton refused to renominate Boyle to the Fourth Circuit, then North Carolina senator, Jesse Helms
, blocked both nominees.
On May 9, 2001, Boyle was nominated by President George W. Bush
to the Fourth Circuit again, this time to the seat vacated by Judge Phillips in 1994. His nomination was never brought to a vote on the floor of the Senate. For over five years, the nomination was stalled. Boyle's nomination is the longest federal appeals court nomination never given a full Senate vote.
His nomination was adamantly opposed by Democrats from the beginning. Former North Carolina
Democrat and Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards
claimed Boyle was an opponent of civil rights and disabilities legislation. Boyle's supporters viewed Boyle as the victim of political payback and obstruction because of his ties to Helms
, who had blocked Clinton's two nominees to the seat because of Boyle, and the determination of liberal politicians not to let conservatives serve at the highest levels of the federal judiciary.
In March 2005, following Bush's re-election
and an increased Republican Senate majority, the Senate Judiciary Committee gave Boyle a hearing almost a full four years after his nomination. On June 16, 2005, Boyle was voted out of Committee on a 10-8 party line vote.
In April 2006, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
said he would try to schedule a vote in May on the nomination of Boyle. No vote occurred however. With the Democrats taking over the U.S. Senate in the 110th Congress, Boyle's confirmation chances markedly decreased. On January 9, 2007, the White House announced that it would not be re-nominating Boyle to the Fourth Circuit. At the time, Boyle clearly stated he did not voluntarily withdraw his nomination. Conrad was nominated to replace Boyle.
Although he had the support of North Carolina's two Republican senators, Elizabeth Dole
and Richard Burr
, Judge Conrad ran into immediate opposition from Senate Democrats and liberal groups such as People for the American Way
and the Alliance for Justice
. There were concerns over both Conrad's writings prior to his confirmation as a district court judge and his rulings later as a judge.
In a 1988 op-ed, Judge Conrad had referred to Planned Parenthood
’s OB/GYNs as “abortion
ists.” He stated that “Planned Parenthood knowingly kills unborn babies, not fetuses, as a method of post conception contraception.” He went on to claim that Planned Parenthood had done nothing to reduce teen pregnancy rates and should not receive funding for its contraception services.
In 1999, Judge Conrad wrote a letter, which was published in the Catholic Dossier, entitled Habitually Wrong. In it, he heavily criticized Sister Helen Prejean
’s book Dead Man Walking. He referred to the book as “liberal drivel” and to Sister Prejean as a “Church-hating nun.” He contended that, “This surprisingly shallow book wallows in worn-out liberal shibboleths and dated anecdotes.”
In addition, according to People for the American Way
, Judge Conrad's short tenure on the district court had not served to put to rest the concerns raised by his pre-judicial record. To the contrary, this activist group stated that he “'consistently ruled against plaintiffs alleging employment discrimination,' he appear[ed] hostile to the rights of criminal defendants, and, sitting by designation on the Fourth Circuit, he joined an anti-environmental ruling overturning a district court decision that the Army Corps of Engineers had violated the Clean Water Act
in approving a permit for the discharge of material from mountain-top mining."
During the 110th Congress, Senator Patrick Leahy
D-VT, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, used Judge Conrad's comments on Prejean to justify why he refused to schedule a hearing for Conrad. He said that Conrad was "anti-Catholic", which enraged Senate Republicans. The Republicans countered that Conrad, himself a Catholic, had merely criticized Prejean for “the near total contempt [she] displayed for the Roman Catholic Church.” In short, Conrad was defending the Catholic Church from the anti-Catholic comments he believed the nun to have made.
Conrad's nomination lapsed with the end of the Bush administration. President Barack Obama chose to nominate James A. Wynn, Jr.
to the seat in 2009.
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
on the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina is a Federal district court which covers the western third of North Carolina....
and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:*District of Maryland*Eastern District of North Carolina...
to take the place of the retired James Dickson Phillips, Jr.
James Dickson Phillips, Jr.
James Dickson Phillips, Jr. is a senior federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.-Early life and education:...
Background
Conrad graduated from Clemson UniversityClemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
in 1980 and the University of Virginia Law School in 1983. Conrad served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina from 2001 until 2004. Prior to his appointment as U.S. Attorney, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the same district for twelve years (1989–2001).
As a U.S. attorney, he has prosecuted cases of terrorism financing and campaign finance. Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Janet Reno
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno is a former Attorney General of the United States . She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993, and confirmed on March 11...
named Conrad as head of her campaign finance task force that investigated fund-raising improprieties during the 1996 U.S. election campaigns
1996 United States campaign finance controversy
The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy, also known as Chinagate, was an alleged effort by the People's Republic of China to influence domestic American politics during the 1996 federal elections....
. He is best known for recommending an independent counsel be named to investigate then Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
.
During the Bush Administration
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Attorney General John Ashcroft
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
appointed Conrad as the head of the Advisory Committee on Terrorism Financing. He was instrumental in prosecuting supporters of the Hezbollah terrorist cell in North Carolina.
Conrad was confirmed April 28, 2005 as a U.S. district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
judge for the Western District of North Carolina
United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina is a Federal district court which covers the western third of North Carolina....
, and became Chief Judge
Chief judge
Chief Judge is a title that can refer to the highest-ranking judge of a court that has more than one judge. The meaning and usage of the term vary from one court system to another...
of the district in 2006.
Fourth Circuit nomination under Bush
On July 17, 2007, Judge Conrad was nominated by President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to a controversial North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:*District of Maryland*Eastern District of North Carolina...
vacated by Judge James Dickson Phillips, Jr.
James Dickson Phillips, Jr.
James Dickson Phillips, Jr. is a senior federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.-Early life and education:...
in 1994.
Originally, President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
nominated Terrence Boyle
Terrence Boyle
Terrence William Boyle is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He was Chief Judge of that court from 1997-2004. From 1991 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2007, he was a nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit...
to a Fourth Circuit seat, but the Senate Democrats who were in control of the 102nd Congress refused to process his nomination. During his two-term administration, President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
tried to integrate the Fourth Circuit by filling the seat with two African-American jurists, first James A. Beaty, Jr.
James A. Beaty, Jr.
James A. Beaty, Jr. is a United States federal judge serving on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, and a former nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit....
and secondly James A. Wynn, Jr.
James A. Wynn, Jr.
James Andrew Wynn, Jr. is an American jurist, currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and formerly on both the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court....
. Because Clinton refused to renominate Boyle to the Fourth Circuit, then North Carolina senator, Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
, blocked both nominees.
On May 9, 2001, Boyle was nominated by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to the Fourth Circuit again, this time to the seat vacated by Judge Phillips in 1994. His nomination was never brought to a vote on the floor of the Senate. For over five years, the nomination was stalled. Boyle's nomination is the longest federal appeals court nomination never given a full Senate vote.
His nomination was adamantly opposed by Democrats from the beginning. Former North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
Democrat and Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
claimed Boyle was an opponent of civil rights and disabilities legislation. Boyle's supporters viewed Boyle as the victim of political payback and obstruction because of his ties to Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
, who had blocked Clinton's two nominees to the seat because of Boyle, and the determination of liberal politicians not to let conservatives serve at the highest levels of the federal judiciary.
In March 2005, following Bush's re-election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
and an increased Republican Senate majority, the Senate Judiciary Committee gave Boyle a hearing almost a full four years after his nomination. On June 16, 2005, Boyle was voted out of Committee on a 10-8 party line vote.
In April 2006, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
Bill Frist
William Harrison "Bill" Frist, Sr. is an American physician, businessman, and politician. He began his career as an heir and major stockholder to the for-profit hospital chain of Hospital Corporation of America. Frist later served two terms as a Republican United States Senator representing...
said he would try to schedule a vote in May on the nomination of Boyle. No vote occurred however. With the Democrats taking over the U.S. Senate in the 110th Congress, Boyle's confirmation chances markedly decreased. On January 9, 2007, the White House announced that it would not be re-nominating Boyle to the Fourth Circuit. At the time, Boyle clearly stated he did not voluntarily withdraw his nomination. Conrad was nominated to replace Boyle.
Although he had the support of North Carolina's two Republican senators, Elizabeth Dole
Elizabeth Dole
Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford "Liddy" Dole is an American politician who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations, as well as a United States Senator....
and Richard Burr
Richard Burr
Richard Mauze Burr is the senior United States Senator from North Carolina and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, Burr represented North Carolina's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives....
, Judge Conrad ran into immediate opposition from Senate Democrats and liberal groups such as People for the American Way
People For the American Way
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy group in the United States. Under U.S. tax code, People For the American Way is organized as a tax-exempt 501 non-profit organization.-Purpose:...
and the Alliance for Justice
Alliance for Justice
Alliance for Justice is a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organizations in the USA....
. There were concerns over both Conrad's writings prior to his confirmation as a district court judge and his rulings later as a judge.
In a 1988 op-ed, Judge Conrad had referred to Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
’s OB/GYNs as “abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
ists.” He stated that “Planned Parenthood knowingly kills unborn babies, not fetuses, as a method of post conception contraception.” He went on to claim that Planned Parenthood had done nothing to reduce teen pregnancy rates and should not receive funding for its contraception services.
In 1999, Judge Conrad wrote a letter, which was published in the Catholic Dossier, entitled Habitually Wrong. In it, he heavily criticized Sister Helen Prejean
Helen Prejean
Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., is a Roman Catholic religious sister, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, who has become a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.-Death row ministry:...
’s book Dead Man Walking. He referred to the book as “liberal drivel” and to Sister Prejean as a “Church-hating nun.” He contended that, “This surprisingly shallow book wallows in worn-out liberal shibboleths and dated anecdotes.”
In addition, according to People for the American Way
People For the American Way
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy group in the United States. Under U.S. tax code, People For the American Way is organized as a tax-exempt 501 non-profit organization.-Purpose:...
, Judge Conrad's short tenure on the district court had not served to put to rest the concerns raised by his pre-judicial record. To the contrary, this activist group stated that he “'consistently ruled against plaintiffs alleging employment discrimination,' he appear[ed] hostile to the rights of criminal defendants, and, sitting by designation on the Fourth Circuit, he joined an anti-environmental ruling overturning a district court decision that the Army Corps of Engineers had violated the Clean Water Act
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
in approving a permit for the discharge of material from mountain-top mining."
During the 110th Congress, Senator Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...
D-VT, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, used Judge Conrad's comments on Prejean to justify why he refused to schedule a hearing for Conrad. He said that Conrad was "anti-Catholic", which enraged Senate Republicans. The Republicans countered that Conrad, himself a Catholic, had merely criticized Prejean for “the near total contempt [she] displayed for the Roman Catholic Church.” In short, Conrad was defending the Catholic Church from the anti-Catholic comments he believed the nun to have made.
Conrad's nomination lapsed with the end of the Bush administration. President Barack Obama chose to nominate James A. Wynn, Jr.
James A. Wynn, Jr.
James Andrew Wynn, Jr. is an American jurist, currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and formerly on both the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court....
to the seat in 2009.