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-->    Print Article   Article Last Updated: 03/03/2006 1:25 AM MST Feinstein will block Idaho nominee to 9th Circuit Court The Associated Press BOISE - Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California says she will block the nomination of an Idaho judge to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals because she believes the seat should go to someone from California.    Feinstein, a Democrat, made the announcement during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on President Bush's nomination of Idaho District Judge Randy Smith.    Bush nominated Smith to replace Judge Stephen Trott, who moved to Idaho from California after...

BOISE, Idaho -- Members of Idaho's congressional delegation say they'll fight California's two U.S. senators over their claim to a vacancy on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after President Bush picked an Idaho judge for the spot. In December, Bush nominated Idaho 6th District Judge Randy Smith of Pocatello to the San Francisco-based appeals court, which covers nine Western states with a combined population of 58 million people. The court has 28 full-time judges, and its retired judges often consider cases as well. Smith was nominated to replace Judge Stephen Trott, who moved to Idaho from California after...

President Bush Friday nominated former Idaho Republican Chairman N. Randy Smith, now a state trial judge, to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If confirmed by the Senate, Smith, 56, would fill the vacancy created when Judge Stephen Trott took senior status. Idaho is currently the only state in the circuit without an active judge, as Trott took senior status at the end of last year and Judge Thomas Nelson did the same in November 2003. Bush has nominated Boise attorney William G. Myers III to succeed Nelson, but Democrats have thus far prevented him from winning confirmation. His...

The Bush Administration may nominate Idaho state court Judge N. Randy Smith to replace Judge Stephen Trott on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This could cause a political problem because, as reported here, Trott’s seat was a “California seat” on the Ninth Circuit. The wrinkle is that Trott moved to Idaho after he was put on the court — hence the administration’s willingness to consider nominating an Idaho judge for the spot. It’s also worth noting that the other Idaho spot on the Ninth is currently vacant, as the administration’s nominee for that seat — William...

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is an edgy place these days. Conservatives -- including a majority in the House of Representatives -- are offended by its rulings, Republicans in Washington, D.C., want to split it up, and the media can't cover it properly. So now, with split opponents lobbying feverishly to defeat a budget-bill rider that would divide the court, there's a new source of agitation for those who want to keep the court intact: N. Randy Smith, an Idaho state court judge, is a potential nominee for a seat that some say should stay in California. Opponents...