March 5, 2010 – The United States Senate has unanimously confirmed President Barack Obama's appointment of Madison attorney William Conley to replace Judge Barbara Crabb in the Western District of Wisconsin.

The vote on March 4, 2010 to confirm Conley was 99-0.

"Bill Conley will make an outstanding addition to the federal bench," U.S. Senator Herb Kohl said to the full Senate prior to the vote. "He possesses all of the best qualities that we look for in a judge: legal acumen, diligence, humility, and integrity."

"With the Senate's confirmation of William Conley, the Western District of Wisconsin will gain an outstanding federal judge," added U.S. Senator Russ Feingold after the vote. "William Conley's impressive legal credentials and his 25 years of experience in private practice make him well qualified for this position."

In October 2009, President Obama nominated Conley to replace Judge Crabb, who is taking senior status. In December 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously recommended approval of Conley's nomination, sending it to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Both Senators Kohl and Feingold serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In August, Conley was one of three individuals advanced for the President's consideration by Senators Kohl and Feingold from among six candidates recommended in June by Wisconsin's Federal Nominating Commission.

In his remarks to the full Senate, Senator Kohl also praised the Federal Nominating Commission for its work.

"For the past 30 years, the Senators from Wisconsin, regardless of party, have used the nominating commission to select candidates for the federal bench," Kohl said. "This process ensures that a judge's qualifications are always our primary consideration and that politics are kept to a minimum. Bill Conley's nomination proves once again that the process we use in Wisconsin ensures excellence."

Conley has been a partner in the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP, where he specialized in commercial litigation, appellate and antitrust law. He received his B.A. and his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1978 and 1982. After graduating from law school, he clerked for Judge Thomas Fairchild on the Seventh Circuit. The American Bar Association gave Conley a unanimous rating of "well qualified" for the position.

Commission membership and activities in 2009

On March 31, 2009, Kohl and Feingold activated the Federal Nominating Commission to fill the vacancy created by the Judge Barbara Crabb's decision to take senior status in the Western District of Wisconsin. On April 1, 2009 the commission issued a call for applications for the position and 21 individuals applied to replace Judge Crabb. On June 8, 2009 the commission announced its list of six recommended candidates to replace Judge Crabb.

For openings in the Western District of Wisconsin and on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the commission was chaired by University of Wisconsin Law School Dean Kenneth Davis.

Pursuant to the commission's charter, Kohl appointed four attorneys to the commission: Stephen Glynn and Nathan Fishbach, both of Milwaukee, Christine Bremer Muggli, of Wausau, and Michelle Behnke, of Madison. Feingold also appointed four attorneys: Ken Calewarts of Green Bay, Chuck Curtis of Madison, Peg Lautenschlager of Fond du Lac, and Harvey Temkin of Madison.

The commission was rounded out by attorneys Susan Hansen of Milwaukee and Thomas Sleik of La Crosse, both appointed by Diane Diel, who at the time was president of the State Bar of Wisconsin.

Staff support for the commission was provided by the State Bar's government relations team.

In addition to the Western District judicial position formerly held by Judge Crabb, the commission also recommended candidates for four other vacant federal positions subject to presidential appointment, including a vacancy on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, the judicial seat in the Western District of Wisconsin formerly held by retired Judge John Shabaz, and the U.S. attorney positions for both the Western and Eastern districts.

Commission history

The Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission has been making recommendations to Wisconsin's United States senators since 1979.

According to Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, the president "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint" federal judges. The president also appoints United States attorneys. By tradition, the president defers to the recommendations of the home state's U.S. senators for these positions.

In 1979, Wisconsin's two United States senators, William Proxmire and Gaylord Nelson, established the Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission, a tradition that has continued to the present day. Democratic and Republican senators have used the commission for every federal judicial and U.S. attorney vacancy in the past 30 years, under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

By Adam Korbitz, Government Relations Coordinator, State Bar of Wisconsin

Related articles:

Senate Judiciary Committee recommends approval of Conley nomination – December 15, 2009
Federal Nominating Commission concludes busy year – Nov. 16, 2009
Commission makes recommendations for United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin – June 8, 2009
Nominating Commission Receives 21 Applications for Second Federal Judgeship Vacancy in Western District – April 22, 2009
Federal Nominating Commission Seeks Applicants for Second Judicial Vacancy in Western District of Wisconsin – April 1, 2009
Kohl, Feingold Announce Activation Of Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission – March 31, 2009

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