Judicial Nominations

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on the nomination of law professor Cornelia (Nina) Pillard to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. There has been a lot of misinformation swirling around about this highly qualified nominee since Professor Pillard’s confirmation hearing at the end of July. But when you look at Nina Pillard’s actual record, it is immediately apparent that she is tremendously qualified to sit on this important court – and should be approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Here are just ten facts that make the case:

1. She helped open VMI to women. Professor Pillard wrote the briefs in United States v. Virginia, a case originally filed by the George H.W. Bush Administration. Professor Pillard’s arguments persuaded the Supreme Court to open the Virginia Military Institute to women, ending one of the last male-only admissions policies at a state college. Read an op-ed about Professor Pillard from a VMI alumna here.
2. She protected the Family & Medical Leave Act. Professor Pillard argued Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs before the Supreme Court, alongside Department of Justice officials from the George W. Bush administration. Their defense of the Family and Medical Leave Act successfully vindicated a state employee’s right to take unpaid leave to care for his ill wife. Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote the majority opinion.

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed two judges to seats on the Southern District of New York. Valerie Caproni was confirmed 73-24, while Vernon Broderick was confirmed by voice vote. Read more »

The United States Senate has essentially closed down until after Labor Day. Before it adjourned yesterday, Judge Raymond Chen was unanimously confirmed to the Federal Circuit, and votes were scheduled on two district court nominees in September. This leaves a total of 11 judicial nominations ready for a vote, including DC Circuit nominee Patricia A. Millett, who was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. A number of other female nominees, including Nina Pillard, also nominated to the D.C. Circuit, are expected to be ready for floor votes in September. Read more »

Yesterday, a day after President Obama announced the nominations of three exceptional individuals to fill the vacancies on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, I attended a White House summit on the judicial vacancy crisis. Read more »

I was delighted to be present when President Obama announced the nominations of Patricia A. Millet, Cornelia “Nina” Pillard, and Robert L. Wilkins to fill the three vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday morning in the Rose Garden of the White House. It was a moment for celebration, but also to focus on the hard work ahead to urge Senators to give these exceptional nominees a confirmation promptly.

The President spoke forcefully about the critical importance of this court, noting that it is widely considered the second-most important court in the land and that it decides cases on a broad range of issues, from environmental protections to worker’s rights — and, I would add, women’s rights, and critical health and safety regulations that women need to protect themselves and their families. As the President put it, “the court’s decisions impact almost every aspect of our lives.”

But this President’s nominees have routinely had to wait significantly longer than the nominees by the Bush Administration. In fact, President Obama’s first outstanding nominee to the D.C. Circuit, Caitlin Halligan, was filibustered twice and blocked for over two years before she withdrew her nomination. Read more »

Last week, the Senate unanimously confirmed Sri Srinivasan to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals by a vote of 97-0, filling one of four vacancies on that important court. But that leaves three current vacancies on the D.C. Circuit, one of which has been open since 2005, when then-Judge John Roberts was elevated to the Supreme Court. Read more »

Yesterday, Srikanth Srinivasan became the first South Asian judge confirmed to a federal court of appeals. In addition, President Obama has recently made some groundbreaking nominations. Last week, after Shelly Dick was the first woman confirmed to the Middle District of Louisiana, President Obama nominated Carolyn McHugh, who would be the first woman from Utah to sit on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Elizabeth Wolford, who would be the first woman to sit on the Western District of New York, Pamela Reeves, who would be the first women to sit on the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Debra Brown, nominated to the Northern District of Mississippi, who would be the first African-American woman to serve as a federal judge in Mississippi. Yesterday as well, President Obama nominated Landya B. McCafferty, who if confirmed would be the first woman judge on the U.S. District Court in New Hampshire, and Susan P. Watters, who if confirmed would be the first woman judge on the U.S. District Court in Montana.  Read more »

The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the nomination of Sri Srinivasan to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals at its executive business meeting last Thursday. Lest anyone become confused and interpret this bipartisan support as a sign that the determined obstruction that has kept all four vacant seats on the D.C. Circuit empty might relent, Senator Grassley proposed in his opening statement that the Committee hold hearings on the D.C. Circuit's workload "before we move on any further D.C. Circuit nominations, beyond that of the current nominee." This follows on the heels of Senator Grassley's introduction of legislation that would, in defiance of reality, recent history, and the reasoned judgment of the United States Judicial Conference, strip the D.C. Circuit of three seats. Instead, the "Court Efficiency Act" would add two seats to other circuits (one to the Eleventh and one to the Second). 

First, the facts. There are currently four vacancies on the D.C. Circuit, one of which (and the seat to which the highly qualified Caitlin Halligan was nominated) has been vacant since Chief Justice Roberts was elevated in 2005. In addition to lacking over one-third of its authorized judges, the Circuit's specialized and complex caseload definitely justifies filling the rest of the current vacancies. As Chief Justice Roberts has written, one-third of D.C. Circuit appeals are from agency decisions. Often, these administrative law appeals have enormous documentary records, implicate complex statutes and agency guidance, and may involve numerous parties and amici curiae — making them far more time-consuming than other types of cases. In any event, since the last judge was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit (Thomas Griffith, in 2005), the caseload has increased more than 50% from 119 pending cases per active judge to 188 pending cases per active judge.  Read more »

Last week, the Senate confirmed two district court judges by overwhelming margins – Shelly Dick was confirmed to the Middle District of Louisiana by voice vote, and Nelson Roman was confirmed to the Southern District of New York by a vote of 97-0. Judge Dick was originally nominated last April, but was blocked by Senator David Vitter until after the 2012 presidential election. After being approved by the Judiciary Committee on February 28, Judge Dick only (!) had to wait two and a half months for a floor vote. Judge Roman, who was originally nominated last September, was voted out of committee the same day. Notably, Judge Dick is the first woman to sit on the bench in the Middle District of Louisiana.

This morning, by a vote of 96-0, Jane Kelly was confirmed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. She becomes the second woman ever to sit on that court, joining Judge Diana Murphy, and the first from Iowa.

Now-Judge Kelly’s confirmation is not only worth celebrating because it adds much-needed diversity to this court, but also because it is exemplary of what the confirmation process should look like: Judge Kelly was nominated on January 31, had her judiciary committee hearing on February 27, was voted out of committee on March 22 – and one month and two days later, she was confirmed. Rather than the 116 days that, on average, President Obama’s nominees wait for a vote on the Senate floor, Judge Kelly was confirmed only 83 days after her nomination. Read more »