Posted on 09/19/2014 5:51:17 AM PDT by cotton1706
With the flow of judicial nominations slowing to a trickle this summer, District of Columbia officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the effect on the local bench.
Chief Judge Lee F. Satterfield last week wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid describing the “adverse impact” of the backlog. Facing three judicial vacancies on the D.C. Superior Court, and a fourth coming in November, Satterfield requested votes on pending nominations before Congress adjourns.
The Nevada Democrat’s office has not responded formally to the Sept. 10 letter, according to Leah H. Gurowitz, director of governmental affairs and public relations for the court. Despite the correspondence, first reported by Legal Times, the chamber appears poised to adjourn without considering the nominations. Reid’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the situation.
Under the District’s unique status, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, not the Judiciary Committee, has to conduct confirmation hearings on federal judges nominated by the president to be confirmed by the Senate, who have exclusively local purview for the courts of D.C.
Two of the local nominees — Steven M. Wellner and William W. Nooter — sailed through the committee earlier this year, while Sherry Moore Trafford’s nomination has not been voted on since her appearance before a subcommittee on March 27.
A committee aide told CQ Roll Call that Trafford is still under consideration and Chairman Thomas R. Carper, D-Del., hopes to move forward on her nomination after Congress returns.
The busy, urban court has 62 judges when fully staffed. They handle more than 100,000 cases per year.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.rollcall.com ...
Good. Maybe fewer judges will result in fewer leftists being appointed by the congressional fools.
Considering that Reid changed the rules so Obama’s Marxists in robes can get on the court with only 15 Dem Senators votes Dems have no-one to point to but themselves for this.
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