CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENATE

September 16, 1965

Page 24092

APPOINTMENT OF HON. FRANK M. COFFIN AS A JUDGE ON THE FIRST JUDICIAL COURT OF APPEALS

Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I know President Johnson attaches great importance to the qualifications of his appointees to the Federal judiciary. His nomination of Frank M. Coffin, of Maine, to be a judge on the First Judicial Circuit Court of Appeals is in the Johnson tradition of outstanding appointments.

Mr. Coffin has a unique combination of talent and experience which is well suited to an appellate court. The American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary has rated him as "exceptionally well qualified" for appointment to the circuit court.

Mr. Coffin had an outstanding academic record in his undergraduate work and in law school. In addition to his A.B. and LL.B. degrees, he holds a degree in business administration. He was a Navy veteran in World War Il. Following graduation from law school he served as law clerk to Federal District Judge John D. Clifford, of Maine. His law practice was devoted primarily to trial work where he distinguished himself before both State and Federal courts. He served two terms as Congressman from Maine. In the executive branch of the Federal Government he has been Director of the Development Loan Fund Deputy, Administrator of the Agency for International Development, and U.S. Representative to the Development Assistance Committee in Paris.

Over the years I have come to know Frank Coffin as a friend, fellow attorney, political associate, and colleague. I have admired him as a student of the law, as an imaginative public leader, as a lawmaker, and as an administrator. He combines the best attributes of an intellectual with the practicality, human understanding, and wisdom which is so important to great judges. In our system of government, where the strength of our democratic institutions depends on the strength of all three branches -- executive, legislative, and judicial -- it is well to have judges, particularly at the appellate level, whose experience and understanding includes all three branches.

I am more than pleased, as I know Frank Coffin's many friends and admirers in Maine must be, that President Johnson has selected him for this important post.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator from Maine has expired.