Statement Of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell On The Crisis In The Sixth Circuit Court Of Appeals

Statement Of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell On The Crisis In The Sixth Circuit Court Of Appeals from the Office of Senator Mitch McConnell

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell delivered the following statement today on the Senate floor:

“Mr. President, for the last four years I have taken to the floor to decry the crushing burden under which the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals operates.

“The years change, but one seemingly immutable fact remains: the Sixth Circuit remains the slowest judicial circuit in the country by far.

“The Sixth Circuit has 16 seats. It covers Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, with a population of over 30 million people.

“For the last three years, the Sixth Circuit has been trying to function with 25% of its seats empty. That vacancy rate is–as it has been for much of this dispute–the highest in the Nation. “Not surprisingly, the Judicial Conference has declared all four of these vacant seats to be “judicial emergencies.”

“According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, last year–like the year before it–the Sixth Circuit was a full 60% behind the national average.

“According to the AOC, the national average for disposing of an appeal is 10.5 months. But in the Sixth Circuit, it takes almost 17 months to decide an appeal (16.8 months).

“That means that in other circuits, if you file your appeal at the beginning of the year, you get your decision around Halloween. But in the Sixth Circuit, if you file your appeal at the same time, you get your decision after the following Memorial Day–over a half-year later.

“As the obstruction drags on, year after year, things have gone from bad to worse.

“In 2001 and 2002, the Sixth Circuit was also the slowest circuit in the country. In those years, the average time for decision in the Sixth Circuit was 15.3 and 16.0 months, respectively. “In 2003, the average length of time for decision in the Sixth Circuit jumped to almost 17 months (16.8 months), again the slowest in the country.

“And I guess things have hit rock bottom, Mr. President, because the AOC reports that last year, 2004, the Sixth Circuit suffered from the same delay, almost 17 months (16.8 months). Yet again, it was the slowest circuit in the Nation.

“You know the old saying that “justice delayed is justice denied.” Well, the 30 million residents of the Sixth Circuit have been denied justice due to the continued obstruction of Sixth Circuit nominees by our Democrat colleagues.

“What is the reason for this sorry state of affairs? An intra-delegation spat from years ago–when a quarter of the current Senate wasn’t even here. Nor, I might add, was the current President around either.

“This dispute drags on year after year. I don’t know who started it. I do know that with respect to nominees not getting hearings, the Democrats do not have a monopoly on disappointment.

“I also know that the obstruction that some of my colleagues are practicing on the Sixth Circuit is out of proportion to any alleged grievance.

“My Democrat colleagues continue to block four Sixth Circuit nominees from Michigan: Henry Saad, David McKeague, Richard Griffin and Susan Nielson. They are also blocking three district court nominees: Thomas Luddington, Dan Ryan and Sean Cox.

“But of the seven vacancies that the Democrats refuse to let the Senate fill, five of the seats were not even involved in this dispute:

“President Clinton NEVER nominated anyone to the seat to which Henry Saad was nominated (vacancy arose on 1/1/00).

“The seat to which David McKeague was nominated did not even become vacant until the current Bush Administration (vacancy arose on 8/15/01).

“And the three district court seats that are being blocked were not involved in the dispute either.

“So what the Michigan senators are doing is holding up one-fourth of an entire circuit in crisis, along with three district court seats, because of an internal dispute about two seats, the genesis of which occurred years ago.

“What are the Michigan Senators demanding in order to lift this blockade? They want to pick circuit court appointments.

“Let’s get back to first principles. As much as they would like to, Democrat Senators do not get to pick circuit court judges in Republican administrations.

“In fact, as much as we would like to, Republican Senators do not get to pick circuit court judges in Republican administrations.

“Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution clearly provides that the President, and the President alone, nominates judges. It then adds that the Senate is to provide its advice and consent to the nominations that the President has made.

“By tradition, the President may consult with senators. But the tradition of “consultation” does not transform individual senators into co-presidents. We have elections for that, and President Bush has won the last two.

“Finally, the Democrats have recently indicated that they will afford three of the Sixth Circuit nominees an up or down vote, along with one of the other filibustered nominees, if we abandon our effort to ensure that all nominees receive an up or down vote. The Democrats don’t care which of the other four nominees is put on the bench because they will let us pick the nominee.

“We are not going to toy with these people’s careers. They have waited patiently for years to receive the simple dignity of an up or down vote. And we are working to restore the norms and traditions of the Senate so that they can receive one.

“But the fact that our Democrat colleagues are now willing to afford one or more of the individual filibustered nominees the courtesy of an up or down vote, but not allow the same nominees collectively to receive up or down votes, shows that our Democrat colleagues recognize that each of these nominees is deserving of an up or down vote.

“But more than that, it shows the partisan and political nature of the opposition. Last year, my Democrat colleagues said that all seven of these judicial nominees were “too extreme.” Now, they say that only three are “too extreme.” So one of the following three statements is true:

“It’s no wonder that many people concluded that what’s at work here is really partisan politics.

“Mr. President, we should not play partisan games with the nominations process. We should take our constitutional duty seriously. I ask my Democrat colleagues to afford these nominees collectively what they are willing to afford each of them individually–a simple up or down vote.”

Once the Pubbies are able to block the dems' filibuster, they need to fill EVERY federal court vacancy in the land with conservatives. Don't leave even one empty. Just ram them through.

There's a tradtion in this circuit of having the location of the judges divided up among states.

The contested judges are all from Michigan. Don Riegle blueslipped some republican judge over 10 years ago. Spence Abraham retaliated by blue slipping Carl Levin's cousin's wife. Stabmenow and Lenin are now blocking all of Bush's nominees to this district.

I did my part in 2002 by voting for Rocky. I'll be doing my part in 2006 by voting for Stabmenow's opponent.

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