One Judge Confirmed; More to Come in March?

Yesterday afternoon, the Senate confirmed Margo Brodie to a seat on the Eastern District of New York, by a vote of 86-2. In case you were wondering, the two “No” votes were by Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who has vowed to make the judicial confirmation process as difficult as possible in retaliation for President Obama’s January recess appointment of Richard Cordray to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina. Now-Judge Brodie, the 59^th female judge confirmed during the Obama Administration, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee without a single vote in opposition. Notwithstanding, she waited for a Senate vote for almost five months – for no apparent reason. Just another example of unprecedented obstruction at a time when 84 seats (including 33 judicial emergencies) remain vacant in the federal judiciary.

In the past few weeks, former Third Circuit Judge Timothy Lewis and ABA President Bill Robinson III reiterated the importance of speeding up the confirmation process. But there are hopeful signs that progress on judicial nominations is imminent. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday that clearing the “backlog” of judicial nominations will be on the Senate’s agenda for the month of March. Contact your Senators today, and ask them to make sure that the Senate gets the job done.