Litigation

Two U.S. Appeals Nominees Get Senate Hearing

By Peter Hardin

Two sitting North Carolina judges nominated by President Obama for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “breezed through” a short confirmation hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to an article in the Charlotte News & Observer.

Judges James Wynn and Albert Diaz “pledged to follow rather than create law and agreed that diversity on the bench signals to Americans that they can trust that justice will be applied with fairness,” the newspaper reported. Judge Diaz would be the court’s first Latino judge, if confirmed, and Judge Wynn its third African American.

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) questioned Wynn about several rulings concerning search and seizure cases, but avoided any harsh challenges for either nominee.

The Off the Record blog of the Greensboro News & Record reported on the hearing and said both men “have been outstanding jurists” and “deserve confirmation as soon as the Senate can act.” Meanwhile, Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, wrote a commentary for McClatchy headlined, “Diaz and Wynn should be confirmed for Fourth Circuit.” You can learn more from earlier Gavel Grab posts about the nominations.

Full post as published by The Gavel on December 17, 2009 (boomark / email).