Litigation

Vacancies Bring Delayed Justice, Judge Warns

By Peter Hardin

The chief federal judge in Colorado has warned U.S. Senate leaders that vacancies on the bench are impeding public access to justice.

Chief U.S. District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel (photo at right) made the assertion in a May letter to leading U.S. senators from both parties, asking for a Senate confirmation vote on a nominee for Colorado, according to a Denver Post article.

“I believe it is in the best interest of the court, and the public it serves, that the judicial nomination and appointment process proceed at a reasonable pace designed to yield qualified judges within a reasonable period of time,” Judge Daniel wrote. The letter was disclosed during recent Senate debate.

As Elena Kagan, President Obama’s nominee for a Supreme Court vacancy, moves toward an expected successful confirmation vote this week, Obama is havingly only limited success in putting his stamp on the lower federal courts, a Bloomberg article reported.

“Obama got off to a slow start picking judges for the federal trial and appeals courts, and Republican delaying tactics have stalled some confirmations,” the article said, touching on themes that have been sounded in other articles and Gavel Grab posts in recent weeks.

In the Los Angeles Times, reporter David Savage examined the issue by focusing on Obama’s nomination of Judge James Wynn to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It is a seat that has been vacant since 1994. Judge Wynn also was nominated by President Clinton, and his nomination was blocked then by Senate Republicans; he was nominated by Obama in fall of 2009 (see Gavel Grab).

“This is nothing but partisan gamesmanship,” Burley Mitchell, former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, told the newspaper. “I’ve known Wynn for years, and we served together for a time on the court. He is a superior person, and a good, middle-of-the-road judge.”

When Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell recently blocked a confirmation vote on Judge Wynn, it was not because of any objections, but about revenge upon Democrats who had gotten in the way of President George W. Bush’s nominees to that court. “My perspective on the 4th Circuit covers a little longer period of time,” McConnell said.

“The Senate’s dispute over judicial nominees resembles a family feud that stretches over several generations,” reporter Savage wrote.

To learn more about the impact on judicial nominations of partisan politics, visit Justice at Stake’s issues page on the topic.

Full post as published by The Gavel on August 02, 2010 (boomark / email).