Monday, October 25, 2010
Judicial nominees continue to pile up in the U.S. Senate, where Republicans have blocked so many judges from being confirmed that 19 states now have “judicial emergencies” on their hands—meaning cases are backing up as the legal system becomes clogged.
The Alliance for Justice has described the Obama Administration’s efforts to fill judgeships as being “fraught with dramatic and unprecedented delays, with nominees falling victim to a deliberate pattern of obstruction from Republicans.”
The organization notes that Senate Republicans have held up even non-controversial nominees who cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on unanimous, bipartisan voice votes.
The number of “judicial emergencies” stands at 50, up from the 20 that existed when President Barack Obama took office in January 2009. Eleven of the vacancy-related emergencies have existed for more than two years, including four that are more than four years old (Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Northern California, Fourth District in Eastern North Carolina, Fifth District in Southern Mississippi and Second District in Northern New York).
-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky
Judicial Emergencies (United States Courts)
The State of the Judiciary: The Obama Administration: The First 20 Months (Alliance for Justice)
Republican Leadership’s Successful Fight to Keep Judgeships Vacant (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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