Current justices. We begin with the longest serving member of the court, anthony kennedy, appointed by Ronald Reagan after the failed nomination of robert pork. Confirmed unanimously in 1988, replacing and nixon appointee, Justice Lewis powell, and previoly served on the nth ciuit court of appeals. Heres a brief portion of the Justice Kennedy confirmation hearing, beginning with an introduction by robert matsui. Mr. Matsui its too bad that two individuals preceded judge kennedy for this nomination. I noticed the editorial in the New York Times this morning, they made reference to judge bork and judge ginsburg and i say its a shame because we shouldnt be here today comparing judge kennedy to his two previous nominees. Judge kennedy in and of himself is a superb candidate for the United StatesSupreme Court. And comparisons do not do this gentleman justice. He has a deep compassion for the law, as many of you know. Hes highly intelligent from his academic record. We can discern that. And his experience, 12 years on the Appellate Court in california and in the western area demonstrates a level that very few nominees to the u. S. Supreme court demonstrate. Obviously judge kennedy is a conservative, and here we are as democrats. We support him because of our personal knowledge of judge kennedy. I look back in Sacramento County, where he grew up and where i grew up and i can talk to the one Million People in Sacramento County and not one of them would have anything negative to say about this candidate. One individual when asked by a reporter what they thought of him said, they noticed a lack of an observable eagle. Ego. Judge kennedy is a man of humility, hes a man of compassion. Hes an individual that really has no ego and is an individual who will understand the plight of the common man when matters come before this court. I would also have to say even though hes a conservative and representative fazio and i are moderates to liberals, we have a great deal of confidence in judge kennedy in terms of what hell do on the u. S. Supreme court. If one looks at his opinions, one will notice he does have judicial restrain but in 1987 that might make a lot of sense because that means he probably wont be overturning many of the decisions of the 1960s, 1950s, 1970s and 1980s and as a result of that youll have stability on the court which i think all of us in the United States desire today. And let me make one further observation. You will hear testimony from the gentleman i have a great deal of admiration for in the next few days. The gentleman is from sacramento. His name is nathaniel colley. He is a black lawyer. He was former general counsel of the naacp. He was born in alabama, came to sacramento, opened up his law practice and became truly one of the prominent lawyers in the United States. One of the great lawyers in the state of california. Id like to read his testimony when he gives it because it will give the regard that lawyers, law students, ordinary individuals have for judge kennedy. I hardly endorse his nomination to the Supreme Court. You couldnt make a better selection. Justice kennedy i most appreciate the gracious welcome from the members of the committee this morning and from senator wilson and the distinguished congressman from my district in sacramento, all three of whom i have known for a number of years. This is an appropriate time for me to thank the president for entrusting me with the honor of appearing before you as his nominee, for associate justice of the United States. My family share in extending great appreciation for showing his confidence in me. I wish, also, to thank the members of your committee, mr. Chairman, for the most interesting and impressive set of meetings that i had with you and members of the senate as a whole over the last four weeks. These are denominated courtesy calls as i understand it. It seems to me that is perhaps a somewhat casual term for what is a very important and significant part of the advise and consent process. In a number of these advise and consent discussions, mr. Chairman, you, your colleagues indicated that you wanted to explain to me your own views, your own convictions, your own ideas, your own concerns about the constitution of the United States. And youve indicated that reply or response is expected from me. And in every case, mr. Chairman, i was profoundly impressed by the deep commitment to constitutional rule and the deep commitment to Judicial Independence that each member of the United States senate has. I wish your workload were such you could give the experience that ive had to every nominee for appointment to the courts in the article 3 system. And now, mr. Chairman, i understand its appropriate and at your invitation i will introduce my family who are here with me. My oldest son justin is a recent graduate of stanford and is now a assistant project manager for a Major Corporate relocation in sacramento and were delighted to have him home with us in sacramento. His brother, gregory, our other son is a senior at stanford and im authorized to assure the committee hes taken the lsat test and on his way to young school. Our youngest child is kristen who is now a sophomore at stanford, majoring in liberal arts, particularly english and history and finally my wife, mary who has the love and admiration of her family and also her 30 students in the Golden Empire school in sacramento. Thank you very much. \[inaudible] i certainly dont envy your tuition bill. Justice kennedy id like that part of the record, mr. Chairman. Its a sacrifice youre making and i mean that sincerely. I am pleased to move forward, judge, if youd like. Justice kennedy that concludes my opening remarks, mr. Chairman, and i am ready to receive the questions from you and your Committee Members. Cspans program on sitting Supreme Court justices continues with Clarence Thomas, nominated in 1991 by president george h. W. Bush. Justice thomas won confirmation by a narrow margin following hearings that included allegations of Sexual Harassment by a former colleague, anita hill. Justice thomas replaced Thurgood Marshall on the court. He previously served for less than two years on the district of Columbia Circuit Court of appeals, and before that as head of the equal Employment Opportunity commission. At his confirmation hearing, Justice Thomas was introduced by Missouri Republican senator john danforth. Senator danforth just as Clarence Thomas will not impinge on his independence by seeking commitments on how he will decide cases before the court so he will never become a sure vote for any group of justices on the court. For two months, i have noted with wonder the certainty of various Interest Groups as they have predicted how the nominee would vote on an array of issues. They dont know Clarence Thomas. I do. I cannot predict how he would vote on any issue. Hes his own person. That is my first point. Second, he laughs. To some this may seem a trivial matter. To me its important because laughter is the antidote to that dread disease, federalitis. The obvious strategy of Interest Groups trying to defeat a Supreme Court nominee is to suggest that there is Something Weird about the individual. I concede there is Something Weird about Clarence Thomas. Its his laugh. It is the loudest laugh i have ever heard. It comes from deep inside and it shakes his body, and here is something at least as weird in this most uptight of cities. The object of his laughter is most often himself. Third, he is serious. Deeply serious in his commitment to make a contribution with his life. Ill never forget visiting with Clarence Thomas after he had been nominated for a second term at the eeoc. I pressed him on why he would accept a second term. Its a thankless job, one when done well makes everyone mad. Its a career blind alley. He answered simply, i havent yet finished the job. I pondered that statement many times over the past five years. Undoubtedly he meant he had not yet finished the job of transforming the eeoc from the administrative basket case he inherited to the first grade agency it is today. But i think he meant more than that. I think he meant that the discrimination hes known in his own life is still too much with us. There is so much more to do if we were to end it. This is the seriousness of Clarence Thomas. Its not anger, as some have suggested. Its not a bitterness that eats away at him. But its profound and it forms the person he is and the justice he will become. I hope that some time in the days judge thomas will be before this committee someone will ask him not about on enumerated rights or the establishment clause but about himself. What was it like to grow up under segregation . What was it like to be there when your grandfather was humiliated before your eyes . What was it like to be laughed at by some because youre black . Everyone in the senate knows something about the legal issues before the Supreme Court. Not a Single Member of the senate knows what Clarence Thomas knows about being poor and black in america. Justice thomas members of the committee, i am humbled and honored to be nominated by president bush to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. I would like to thank the committee, especially you, chairman biden, for your extraordinary fairness throughout this process. And i would like to thank each of you and so many of your colleagues here in the senate for taking the time to visit with me. There are not enough words to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to senator danforth, who gave me my first job out of yale law school. I have not never forgotten the terms of his offer to me. More work for less pay than anyone in the country could offer. \[laughter] believe me, he delivered on his promise, especially the less pay. [laughter] i appreciate his wise counsel and his example over the years and his tireless efforts on my behalf during the confirmation process. And id like to thank senators bond, nunn, fowler, warner and robb for taking the time to introduce me today. Much has been written about my family and me over the past 10 weeks. Through all that has happened throughout our lives and through all adversity, we have grown closter and our love for each other has grown stronger and deeper. I hope these hearings will help to show more clearly who this person Clarence Thomas is and really makes me tick. My earliest memories, as alluded to earlier, are those of pin point, georgia, a life far removed in space and time from this room, this day and this moment. As kids we caught minnows in the creeks, crabs in the marshes, we played with pluffers and skipped shells across the water. It was a world so vastly different from all this. In 1955 my brother and i went to live with my mother in savannah. We lived in one room in a tenement. We shared a kitchen with other tenants, and we had a mmon bathroom in the back yard which was unworkable and unu it was heard but it was all we had and all we were. Our mother earned 20 every two weeks as a maid. Not enough to take care of us. So she arranged for us to live with our grandparents later in 1955. Imagine, if you will, two little boys with all their belongings in two grocery bags. Our grandparents were two great and wonderful people who loved us dearly. I wish they were sitting here today sitting here so they could see that all their efforts, their hard work were not in vain. And so that they could see that hard work and strong values can make for a better life. I am grateful that my mother and my sister could be here. Unfortunately, my brother could not be. I attended segregated parochial schools and later attended a seminary near savannah. The nuns gave us hope and belief in ourselves when societ didnt. They reinforced the importance of religious beliefs in our personal lives. Personal lives. Sister mary, my eighth grade teacher, and the other nuns were unyielding in their expectations that reused all of our talents no matter what the rest of the world said or did. After high school, i left savannah and attended Immaculate Conception seminary. Then holy cross college. I attended yale law school. Yale had opened its doors, its heart, its conscience to recruit and admit minority students. I benefited from this effort. My career is as been delineated today. As an assistant attorney general in the state of missouri, i was an attorney in the Corporate Law department of monsanto company. I joined senator danforths staff here in the senate. I was an assistant secretary in the department of education, chairman of eeoc and since 1990 a judge on the u. S. Court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit. But for the efforts of so many others who have gone before me i would nobe here today. It would be unimaginable. Only by standing on their shoulders could i be here. At each turn in my life, each obstacle confronted, each fork in the road, someone came along to help. I remember, for example, the 1974 after i completed law school, i had no money, no place to live. Mrs. Margaret bush wilson who would later become chairperson of the naacp, allowed me to live at her house. She provided me not only with room and board but advice, counsel and guidance. As i left her house that summer, i asked her, how much do i owe you . Her response was, just along the way help someone whos in your position. I have tried to live by my promise to her to do just that, to help others. So many others gave their lives, their blood, their talents, but for them i would not be here. Justice marshall, whose seat ive been nominated to fill, is one of those who had the courage and the intellect. Hes one of the great architects of the legal battles to open doors that seemed so hopelessly and permanently sealed. And to knock down barriers that seemed so insurmountable to those of us in the pin pnt, georgias of the world. The civil rights movement. Reverend Martin Luther king and the scls. Roy wilkins and the naacp. Whitney young in the urban league. Fannie lou hamer, rosa parks and dorothy height, they changed society and reached out and affirmatively helped. I have benefited greatly from their efforts. But for them there would have been no road to travel. My grandparents always said, there would be more opportunities for us. I can still hear my grandfather yall going to have more of a chance than me. And he was right. He felt that if others sacrificed and created opportunities for us we had an obligation to work hard, to be decent citizens, to be fair and good people and he was right. You see, mr. Chairman, my grandparents grew up and lived their lives in an era of blatant segregation and overdiscrimination. Their sense of fairness was molded in a crews balance of crucib of unfairness. I watched as my grandfather was called boy. I watched as my grandmother suffered the indignity of being denied the use of a bathroom. But through it all, they remained fair, decent, good people. Fair in spite of the terrible contradictions in our country. They were hardworking, productive people who always gave back to others. They gave produce from the farm, fuel oil from the fuel oil truck. They bought groceries for those who were without. And they never lost sight of the promise of a better tomorrow. I follow in their footsteps, and i have always tried to give back. Over the years, i have grown and matured. Ive learned to listen carefully, carefully to other points of views and to others, to think through problems, recognizing that there are no easy answers to difficult problems, to think deeply about those who will be affected by the decisions that i make and the decisions made by others, but i have always carried in my heart the world, the life, the people and the values of my youth. The values of my grandparents and my neighbors. The values of people who believed so very deeply in this country in spite of all the contradictions. It is my hope that when these hearings are completed that this committee will conclude that i am an honest, decent, fair person. I believe that the obligations and responsibilities of a judge in essence involve just such basic values. A judge must be fair and impartial. A judge must not bring to his job, to the court, the baggage of preconceived notions of ideology and certainly not an agenda. And the judge must get the decision right because when all is said and done, the little guy, the average person, the people of pinpoint, the real people of pin point, the real people of america will be affected by not what we judges do but by the way we do our jobs. If confirmed by the senate, i pledge that i will preserve and protect our constitution and carry with me the values of my heritage, fairness, integrity, openmindedness, honesty and hard work. Thank you, mr. Chairman. The next justice to be appointed to the Supreme Court was Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993. Nominated to fill the seat of kennedy appointee byron white, Justice Ginsburg was confirmed 863. She served on the district of Columbia Court