Judges

The handful of Senators hell-bent on obstruction of judicial nominees is at it again: they have refused to consent to a yes-or-note vote on a nominee to a district court seat on the Southern District of New York, Jesse Furman. As a result, Senator Reid has filed a cloture petition on the nomination, with a vote expected tomorrow morning or early afternoon. Read more »

If a vote to filibuster an appellate court judicial nominee fails 89-5, but Senator Rand Paul insists on 30 hours of debate before a yes-or-no confirmation vote, does that count as beating a filibuster? Read more »

Yesterday it was reported that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring a package of judicial and/or executive branch nominees for a Senate vote at the end of next week, before the Senate’s week-long President’s Day recess begins. Why is this such big news? Well, the Senate has only confirmed one judicial nominee in 2012. This, despite the fact that there are 86 judicial vacancies, of which 33 have been deemed judicial emergencies. And there are 19 nominees who are waiting for a Senate vote, some who have been cooling their heels for months. Read more »

Even for the most dedicated political nerd, the twists and turns of Senate process can be opaque. When is a failed cloture petition a filibuster? Who objected to the unanimous consent request? Why did everyone agree to two hours of debate when they’re just going to fill them up with quorum calls? And don’t get me started on secret holds.

In contrast, Utah Senator Mike Lee has forthrightly owned up to his recent decision to block all judicial and executive branch nominations. Senator Lee said, flat-out, last week, “I find myself duty-bound to resist the consideration and approval of additional nominations.” (Senator Lee made clear that this blockade is in protest of President Obama’s recess appointments of Richard Cordray and three NLRB commissioners).

Unfortunately, the action that Senator Lee is helpfully owning up to is one of devastating scope and wide-ranging impact. Read more »

As you might have gathered by now, we at NWLC care deeply about increasing women’s representation in the judiciary. So we wanted to make sure that women lawyers in Maryland know about an event that will educate them about the judicial selection process.

The National Association of Women Judges and the Maryland lawyer chapter of ACS are offering a training today in Baltimore. Details are below. To register, email District 4 NAWJ Director Claudia Barber at claudiaabarber@aol.com and/or call (202) 724-5474.

The Maryland Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society and the National Association of Women Judges present:

Training Women Lawyers About the Judicial Selection Process

Today is the Lunar New Year, the beginning of the Year of the Dragon – considered the luckiest year in the Chinese zodiac. 
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Speaking in Yuma, Arizona on Tuesday, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor told of her harrowing search for work as a young lawyer recently graduated from Stanford Law in 1952. She called every firm recruiting Stanford graduates, but “not one of them would talk to me. I was female. They didn’t intend that a woman would make an appointment.”

Finally, she interviewed with a fellow female law student’s father, a lawyer in Los Angeles. She thought surely he would give her a chance, but “he said he was impressed but that the law firm had never hired a woman lawyer and that he didn’t see a day when it would.” He offered her a job as a legal secretary instead.

How times change. Today, that very law firm has hired hundreds of women, and the same lawyer supported Justice O’Connor’s later appointment to the Supreme Court.

Justice O’Connor’s difficulties are echoed by many female judges who graduated from law school in the same era and went on to hold high-ranking positions in the federal judiciary. But even though female lawyers have become commonplace in the legal field, it’s a different story when it comes to the judiciary.  Even though women comprise nearly half of all law school graduates, far fewer make it to the federal judiciary. Read more »

Caitlin Halligan, a nominee for the D.C. Circuit Court, is one of the most respected appellate lawyers in the country. She has a broad range of legal experience, including government service, private practice, and academia. She has honed her practice in state and federal appellate courts, and has argued five cases before the Supreme Court. Her many accomplishments are reflected by the unanimous "Well-Qualified" rating she received from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. She has earned the respect and support of her peers and has been endorsed by a long list of organizations.

This superb nominee has waited over eight months without a vote by U.S. Senators — even though there are three vacancies on the D.C. Circuit. But the wait is finally over.

It's time for a vote: Tell your Senators to support the nomination of Caitlin Halligan for the D.C. Circuit. Read more »

Yesterday afternoon, the Senate voted to confirm Christopher Droney to a Connecticut-based seat on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Remarkably, Judge Droney is only the 8th appellate court judge confirmed by the Senate in 2011. Those members of the Senate determined to slow-walk judicial nominees are apparently determined to do so in every conceivable category. With 15 vacancies on the courts of appeal, you would think that all Senators would want to proceed to votes on the four other Court of Appeals nominees ready for a vote, out of, you know, a concern for the administration of justice. Apparently not. Read more »

We’re excited to have Allen Derr, attorney who argued for Sally Reed in the landmark Reed v Reed case, joining the audience tomorrow for a special panel to mark the 40^th anniversary of the case. The panel will be discussing the past and future of women’s legal rights under the Equal Protection Clause and you can register to join the live webcast here: http://action.nwlc.org/reedvreed

You can learn more about the Reed v Reed case here and also, read an article from the Idaho Statesman about Mr. Derr coming to Washington, D.C. for the event: Read more »