New judges for federal district court receive confirmation

WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Thursday approved new judges for U.S. District Court in Missouri, confirming the nominations of St. Louis Circuit Judge Henry Autrey to the Eastern District and Springfield lawyer Richard Dorr to the Western District.

The 94 U.S. district courts are the government's trial courts, with jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. Next come the 13 circuit courts of appeals.

Autrey was a lawyer in the St. Louis prosecutor's office before being named associate circuit judge in 1986 by then-Gov. John Ashcroft, a Republican.

The late Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan elevated him to circuit judge in 1997.

Autrey's post is the one denied Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ronnie White in a partisan showdown on the floor of the U.S. Senate. White's nomination was derailed by then-Sen. Ashcroft, and the jurist took the unusual step of testifying against Ashcroft at the U.S. attorney general's confirmation hearings.

Dorr, 58, is managing partner of the Kansas City-based firm of Blackwell, Sanders, Peper and Martin and has practiced for several years in Springfield.

He earned his law degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia.

Raised in Jefferson City, Dorr went to the University of Illinois on a football scholarship and played in the 1964 Rose Bowl, graduating the following year with a bachelor's degree in marketing.

He served as a lawyer while on active duty in the Air Force from 1968 to 1973, then served in the reserves until 1990, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., chose both nominees for the lifetime appointments. The president makes nominations but customarily follows the wishes of a senior lawmaker such as Bond.

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