Judicial Nominations

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. Read more »

Yesterday, there was an agreement to vitiate the cloture petition on the nomination of Jesse Furman to the Southern District of New York. In plain English, that means that the Senate minority decided that it was a bad idea to filibuster a district court nominee who was unanimously voted out of committee, especially after faux-filibustering Adalberto Jordan, a Cuban-American nominee to the Eleventh Circuit, a few days earlier. Read more »

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 »

We are starting 2012 much as we ended 2011 -- with a minority of U.S. Senators blocking confirmation votes on federal judicial nominees. Most recently, Senator Mike Lee of Utah announced his intention to block votes on all judicial and executive branch nominees. Even though a nominee to a Utah court -- whom Senator Lee supports -- is waiting for a vote, Senator Lee won't back down.

If this sounds familiar, it's because we've seen the same story play out over and over. Enough is enough: tell your Senators to vote on ALL judicial nominees.

There are 18 nominees ready for a Senate vote, eight of whom are women. If these eight women are confirmed, the gender diversity of two circuit courts and numerous district courts around the country would increase significantly. While President Obama's nominees have been more diverse than any prior President's, the Senate has to confirm them in order for people needing justice to actually benefit from a more diverse bench. Read more »

This afternoon, the Senate confirmed Cathy Ann Bencivengo to a seat on the Southern District of California by a vote of 90-6. Judge Bencivengo, who had been rated Unanimously Well-Qualified by the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, was approved without opposition by the Senate Judiciary Committee back in October. Despite the fact that the seat to which she had been nominated had been designated a judicial emergency, Judge Bencivengo’s nomination languished for four months. 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 »

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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Monday, the Senate confirmed Stephen Higginson to a judicial emergency seat on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana, by a vote of 88-0. Read more »