Reid Pushes For Vote On Appeals Court Nominee Hamilton Before Veteran's Day

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 06 Nov 2009 - 3:00 PST

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday that he intends to force a confirmation vote by Veterans Day on the nomination of U.S. District Judge David Hamilton to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, CQ Today reports (Perine, CQ Today, 11/4). President Obama nominated Hamilton in March (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/18). The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Hamilton's nomination on a party-line vote in June, according to CQ Today.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and other Republicans who object to Hamilton's nomination have criticized his ruling to issue an injunction blocking enforcement of a provision in a state abortion law. The provision would have required women seeking abortions to receive in-person counseling 18 hours prior to the procedure. In his opinion, Hamilton wrote that the provision imposed an "undue burden" on women. The 7th Circuit -- the court on which Hamilton would serve if his nomination is approved -- later overturned his ruling.

Reid said that if he is unable to secure an agreement with Republicans on the length of debate over Hamilton's nomination, he will file a petition for cloture, a procedural move that would force Republicans to decide whether to filibuster. A GOP filibuster - which would require 40 votes -- would contradict the party's stance during the Bush administration that every judicial nominee deserves an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. It remains unclear whether enough Democrats support the nomination to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to end a filibuster, as two moderate senators -- Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) -- have expressed reservations about the nominee. However, Republican Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.) has pledged to vote for the nominee, who hails from his home state. So far, Obama has made nominations to fill 12 openings on federal appellate courts, including two nominations submitted Wednesday for vacancies on the conservative 4th Circuit. Only one of the 12 nominations has been confirmed by the Senate (CQ Today, 11/4).

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