MAY 9 IS AN anniversary worth noting: Last year on that date, President Bush sent Congress the names of 11 judicial nominees for the U.S. circuit courts of appeal. One year later, 3 of them--including 2 Democrats named as a conciliatory gesture--have been confirmed by the Democratic Senate. Of the remaining 8, not one has been so much as scheduled for a hearing.
President Bush on Friday sounded the alarm about a "vacancy crisis" on the federal bench. The White House and Senate Republicans point to the Hearingless 8 to show that the Democratic Senate has dragged its feet unjustifiably in assessing the president's judicial nominees. Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, maintains to the contrary that he's been "moving faster on judges than the Republicans ever did for President Clinton." Both sides brandish statistics to prove their case, but Republicans have the better argument, especially when it comes to those first nominees.
In all, President Bush has made 100 nominations to the federal bench, 69 to the district courts, 30 to the circuit courts of appeals, and one to the court of international trade. The Senate has confirmed 43 district judges and 9 circuit judges--a total of 52.
For the most part, the processing of district nominees has given the Republicans little cause for complaint. Most district nominees are being confirmed two to five months from the date of their nomination. Only one from last year hasn't been confirmed. That nominee, Paul Cassell, nominated for a seat in Utah,
was finally voted out of committee last week, along with 5 more recent nominees. The remaining 20 nominees--all of them sent up since late January--are in various stages of the confirmation process. Eleven await review by the American Bar Association, which the committee requires before a hearing can be held.
The circuit nominees are a different matter. Hearings are past due not just for the 8 who have been patiently waiting a year. By early August, Bush had designated 11 more circuit nominees. Of those, 6 have been confirmed, and one (Charles Pickering for the 5th Circuit) was rejected in committee on a party-line vote, 10 to 9. Leahy has yet to schedule hearings for any of the remaining 4, though the paperwork for each was finished long ago. Last fall Bush announced 7 more circuit nominees. Just 2 have had hearings, and the other 5--their paperwork also complete--have yet to have hearings scheduled. Bush's 30th circuit nominee was announced last week.
By a pertinent historical measure, Leahy's committee has been slow: The three most recent presidents (Reagan, Bush, and Clinton) saw all of their first 11 nominees confirmed within their first year in office. Moreover, Leahy has failed on his own terms, since he said he would grant hearings for nominees within a year of their selection. He has recently promised hearings for 3 of the Hearingless 8--Miguel Estrada (D.C. Circuit), Priscilla Owen (5th Circuit), and Michael McConnell (10th Circuit)--but not for the other 5. He also has said, "I look forward to where we are by July 10 of this year," when a year will have passed since he had "a fully organized committee and could start hearings." Maybe by then Leahy will have convened hearings for the bulk of Bush's circuit nominees.
Val:Y
|
