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| PRESIDENT CLINTON URGES SENATE TO CONFIRM JUDICIAL NOMINEES |
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| July 30, 2000 |
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In a speech before the American Trial Lawyer?s Association in Chicago,
Illinois, President Clinton will urge the Senate to confirm pending
judicial nominees to the federal courts. The President will note the
urgent vacancy crisis confronting federal courts throughout the country,
and express concern about the unconscionable Senate slowdown of judicial
nominees.
PRESIDENT CLINTON?S JUDICIAL APPOINTEES ARE THE MOST DIVERSE IN HISTORY.
The President has been deeply committed to appointing a federal judiciary
filled with qualified, thoughtful jurists who reflect this nation?s
diversity. The President?s record of appointing women and minority judges
is unmatched by any President in history. Almost half of President
Clinton?s judicial appointees have been women or minorities. For example,
President Clinton has appointed more African-Americans to the federal bench
than any other President in history - in fact, the President has appointed
more African Americans to federal judgeships (62 total) than were appointed
during the last sixteen years combined (57 total). Likewise, the President
has appointed as many Hispanic-Americans to the federal judiciary (23
total) as Presidents Bush and Reagan combined, and has appointed more
Hispanic- Americans to the federal appeals courts than Presidents Bush,
Reagan, and Carter combined.
PRESIDENT CLINTON?S JUDICIAL APPOINTEES ARE THE MOST QUALIFIED IN MORE THAN
FORTY YEARS. In addition to being the most diverse set of judges in
history, the President?s judicial appointments have also garnered the
highest percentages of top American Bar Association ratings in 40 years.
The President?s judicial appointments have shattered the pernicious myth
that diversity and quality do not go hand in hand. As the President has
said, ?Justice may be blind, but we all know that diversity in the courts,
as in all aspects of society, sharpens our vision and makes us a stronger
nation.?
THE QUALITY OF JUSTICE SUFFERS WHEN QUALIFIED WOMEN AND MINORITY JUDGES ARE
STALLED BY THE SENATE. The quality of justice suffers when highly qualified
women and minority candidates are denied an opportunity to serve in the
judiciary. During the 105th Congress, a non-partisan blue ribbon study,
issued by the Citizens for Independent Courts? Task Force on Federal
Judicial Selection, found that women and minority nominees took
significantly longer to be considered by the Senate than did white male
nominees. According to the study, it took an average of 60 days longer for
non-whites than whites and 65 days longer for women than men to be
considered by the Senate during the 105th Congress. The independent study
also concluded that minority nominations failed at a higher rate (35%) than
the nominations of whites (14%).
THE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR THE CONFIRMATION OF FIFTH CIRCUIT NOMINEE ENRIQUE
MORENO. Enrique Moreno, an Hispanic American litigator from El Paso, Texas,
was nominated on September 16, 1999 to fill the Texas vacancy on the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. A graduate of Harvard College and
Harvard Law School, Moreno was unanimously deemed well qualified by the
American Bar Association. Moreno was also rated one of the top three El
Paso trial attorneys in a 1997 survey of state judges, and has garnered the
support of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic
National Bar Association, and local law enforcement officials including El
Paso?s Chief of Police, Sheriff, and District Attorney.
Despite Moreno?s impeccable credentials and broad bipartisan support, the
Republican Senators from Texas have announced that they oppose Moreno?s
confirmation on the ground that he lacked sufficient experience. By
suggesting that Moreno needs judicial experience before he could be
appointed to the appellate bench, the Texas Senators appear to be applying
a double standard. Moreno has 19 years of legal experience in private
practice; five of fourteen active judges on the Fifth Circuit (36%) had
fewer years of experience than Moreno when appointed. Four of nine Fifth
Circuit judges (44%) appointed by Republican Presidents had fewer years of
experience than Moreno at the time of their appointments, and half of the
current active judges on the Fifth Circuit brought no prior judicial
experience to the bench. Moreover, six of the seven judges with no prior
judicial experience are Republican appointees. By blocking Moreno?s
confirmation, Senators Gramm and Hutchison have once again prevented a well
qualified nominee from filling a vacancy that has been declared a judicial
emergency by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
THE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR THE INTEGRATION OF THE FOURTH CIRCUIT. The Fourth
Circuit, which hears appeals from trial courts in Maryland, North Carolina,
South Carolina,
Virginia, and West Virginia, has the largest African-American population of
any circuit in this country, yet it has never had an African-American
appellate judge. The President has twice nominated highly qualified
African-Americans to the Fourth Circuit in North Carolina and has also
nominated an African- American from Virginia to serve on the Fourth
Circuit. None of these outstanding candidates has been confirmed by the
Senate. There are currently two exceptional nominees for the Fourth
Circuit awaiting Senate action: Judge James Wynn of North Carolina and
Roger Gregory of Virginia.
Judge James Andrew Wynn, a highly respected African-American judge on the
North Carolina Court of Appeals, was nominated for a seat on the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on August 5, 1999. The Raleigh News and
Observer described Judge Wynn as a "first-rate jurist," and the Greensboro
News & Record stated that Wynn has ?distinguished himself as a legal
thinker and writer.? Nevertheless, Senator Jesse Helms has refused to
allow Wynn even a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. There are
now no North Carolinians sitting on the Fourth Circuit, even though, by
statute, North Carolina is entitled to be represented by at least one
circuit court judge. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has
declared Judge Wynn?s Fourth Circuit seat a judicial emergency.
Roger Gregory is a highly-respected Richmond litigator who has tried
hundreds of cases in the Virginia courts. His seat has been declared a
judicial emergency by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. A
founding member and managing partner of the law firm of Wilder & Gregory,
Gregory?s nomination has garnered substantial bipartisan support. After
interviewing Roger Gregory, Senator Warner of Virginia wrote to Senator
Orrin G. Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stating that he
found Gregory "a well-qualified nominee who would serve as an excellent
jurist on this circuit, which is vital to our state." Gregory has not
received a Judiciary Committee hearing.
THE PRESIDENT URGES CONFIRMATION OF OTHER PENDING JUDICIAL NOMINEES. There
are currently 37 pending judicial nominees, 15 of whom are nominated for
seats that have been declared judicial emergencies by the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts. The Senate should move on all pending
judicial nominees, including:
? Helene White, a highly-qualified Michigan appellate judge, has been
waiting for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing since January 7, 1997
longer than any other pending appellate court nominee. The Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts has declared Judge White?s Sixth Circuit seat a
judicial emergency.
? Kathleen McCree-Lewis, nominated to the Sixth Circuit on September 16,
1999, is a distinguished appellate practitioner at the Detroit law firm of
Dykema Gossett. Well-known for her public service contributions to the
bench and bar, McCree-Lewis is the daughter of the late Wade McCree, the
first African-American to serve on a federal district court in Michigan,
the first African-American to serve on the Sixth Circuit, and a former
Solicitor General of the United States. Rated unanimously well qualified
by the American Bar Association, McCree-Lewis would become the first
African-American woman ever to serve on the Sixth Circuit. She has yet to
receive a Judiciary Committee hearing.
? Bonnie Campbell, Director of the Justice Department?s Office of Violence
Against Women, was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the
Eighth Circuit on March 2, 2000. In 1990, Campbell became the first woman
to serve as Iowa?s Attorney General. She has the bipartisan support of
both Iowa Senators, including Republican Charles Grassley. Campbell
received a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on May 25, 2000, but her
nomination has been stalled in committee since then.
Dolly Gee, an Asian-American labor and employment lawyer with the Los
Angeles law firm of Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers, was nominated
for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of
California on May 27, 1999. A graduate of UCLA Law School, Gee served on
the Federal Service Impasse Panel (1994-1997) and was a Regional
Coordinator for the Office of Election Officer (1995-1997). Despite
receiving broad bipartisan support, Gee?s nomination has languished in the
Senate for over a year, longer than all but eight of the President?s
pending judicial nominees. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
has declared Gee?s district court seat a judicial emergency.
? Legrome Davis, a noted African-American state judge, was first nominated
by the President on July 30, 1998, and renominated on January 26, 1999, to
fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania. A graduate of Princeton University and Rutgers Camden School
of Law, Davis has been rated well qualified by the American Bar
Association. Despite over 20 years of legal and judicial experience, Davis
has waited 731 days for the Senate to act on his nomination.
? Lynette Norton, a partner at the law firm of Picadio, McCall, Kane &
Norton, was nominated by the President on April 29, 1998 to fill a vacancy
on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. A
graduate of Duquesne University School of Law and a private practitioner
with almost 20 years of experience, Norton has been rated well qualified by
the American Bar Association. Her nomination has been pending in the
Senate longer than all but two of the President?s judicial nominees.
THE CURRENT CONFIRMATION SLOWDOWN IS UNCONSCIONABLE. Although the Senate?s
actions in 1996 (when only 17 judges were confirmed) suggests that the
Senate may try to stop proceeding with judicial confirmations in an
election year, history demonstrates that election year politics should not
stall the confirmation process. In 1992, in President Bush?s final year,
the Senate confirmed 66 judges. In 1988, the Senate confirmed 42 judges;
and in 1984, 44 judges were confirmed. So far this year, only 35 judges
have been confirmed. In addition, although some have claimed that judges
do not get confirmed in September and October, this is simply untrue. The
Senate confirmed 12 of President Bush?s nominees during the final two
months of the 1992 session, and in 1988, the Senate confirmed 11 of
President Reagan?s nominees during September and October. In fact, between
1972 and 1999, the Senate confirmed an average of 12 nominees during the
final two months of each session. The nation cannot afford to allow
political considerations to empty our courts and put justice on hold. When
the Senate returns from recess, it should move to confirm the President?s
pending judicial nominees.
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