Obama Criticized For Caution, Pace On Naming Judicial Nominees, Washington Post Reports

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Article Date: 19 Oct 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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Some liberal groups say they are increasingly frustrated with President Obama's slow progress on federal judicial nominees, the Washington Post reports. Three of Obama's nominations have been confirmed to federal judgeships "largely because Republicans have used anonymous holds and filibuster threats to slow the proceedings to a crawl." However, critics of Obama's progress also note that he has sent relatively few names to the Senate for consideration. Obama has named 23 nominees, compared with President George W. Bush's 95 at the same point in his presidency.

According to the Post, although Supreme Court nominees generate the most fanfare, lower court nominees give the president the chance to select judges who hold his views on controversial issues, like abortion rights and the role of religion in the public sphere. Whereas Bush "saw judicial appointments as a way to advance a strict view of the Constitution," Obama has not clearly defined his judicial philosophy beyond saying that he wants to name empathetic judges, the Post reports.

Obama's first judicial nomination came in March, when he named Indiana federal District Court Judge David Hamilton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. Hamilton's name has not been brought to the Senate floor. U.S. District Judge Andre Davis, Obama's pick for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, was nominated in April and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in June, but anonymous holds have also prevented a full Senate vote. "We should not have to overcome filibusters and spend months seeking time agreements to consider these nominations," Senate Judiciary Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said.

The delays are contributing to backups in the federal court system, where 90 judgeships -- about 10% of the total -- remain vacant in appeals and district courts, Leahy said. Obama spokesperson Ben LaBolt said the administration is working with members of Congress to identify qualified nominees and making "every effort to make confirmation wars a thing of the past." However, some say Obama is being too cautious. Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, said, "I commend the president's effort to change the tone in Washington," adding, "I recognize that he is extending an olive branch to Republicans. ... But so far, his efforts at reconciliation have been met with partisan hostility." Liberals also say Obama needs to start pushing harder for nominees, reasoning that Republicans up for election in 2010 will be working to block nominees "as a means to gin up their base," according to Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice (Fletcher, Washington Post, 10/16).

District Court Nominee Could Face Battle

In related news, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted 12-7 along party lines to accept the nomination of Edward Milton Chen to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, CQ Today reports. Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) said they believe Chen's personal views could influence his rulings. The criticisms could signal that Chen, currently a magistrate judge in the district, will face an uphill battle reaching confirmation, CQ Today reports (Perine, CQ Today, 10/15).

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