Tag Archives: Topic: Nominations

Star Advertiser: “Despite the opinion by the head of the state agency that administers Hawaii’s open-records law, Gov. Neil Abercrombie will not release the names of candidates to the Hawaii Supreme Court.”

Des Moines Register: “The list of nine finalists for the court includes five judges, three private attorneys and a University of Iowa law professor. Scholars and court-watchers say the group reflects a mix of legal experience from trial and appellate courts, academia and judgeships.”

Christian Post: “President Obama has sent his nomination for the position of Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom to the Senate to be approved, the White House announced Monday.”

Star Advertiser: “The state Senate could vote as early as next week on Family Court Judge Sabrina McKenna’s appointment to the Hawaii Supreme Court following the unanimous approval of her nomination yesterday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

Tulsa World: “The White House enlisted surrogates to validate its pick to fill a vacant judicial slot in Tulsa, but it remained unclear whether that would be enough to rescue one of the few American Indians selected for the federal bench in U.S. history. Questions still surround a process that triggered immediate opposition to the nomination of Arvo Mikkanen, an assistant U.S. attorney in Oklahoma City.”

Blog of the Legal Times: “Among the nominations are two candidates for spots on the bench of Washington’s federal trial court. Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia Superior Court and Amy Jackson, a partner at Washington-based Trout Cacheris, have both been nominated for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.”

San Francisco Chronicle: “Edward Davila, a Santa Clara Superior Court judge nominated by President Obama to the federal court in San Jose, won unanimous approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday for the second time in three months.”

Blog of the Legal Times: “Caitlin Halligan followed an often-used script today during her confirmation hearing for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, telling a Senate committee that if confirmed, she would defer to Supreme Court precedent and to the Framers’ intent. But her hour-long testimony made clear that Republicans are laying the ground for possible opposition to her nomination.”

How Appealing links to reports on the nomination and opposition to it.

Blog of the Legal Times: “The District of Columbia’s judicial nomination commission today recommended to the White House three Washington lawyers who are vying to fill a vacancy on the D.C. Court of Appeals. The commission recommended Corinne Ann Beckwith, Todd Kim and Walter Smith Jr. . . . ”

Blog of the Legal Times: “In a rare public appearance, White House Counsel Robert Bauer pleaded today for senators to allow confirmation votes on more of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees.”

Blog of the Legal Times: “Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is recommending a Day Pitney partner and a former Cravath, Swaine & Moore partner for vacancies on the busy federal bench in Manhattan.”

365Gay.com: This week, the Obama administration filled two high-ranking positions with openly gay appointees and nominated a third for a federal judgeship [J. Paul Oetke] in New York.”

“Gov. Terry Branstad is planning an hour-long interview with each of the nine nominees for three seats on the Iowa Supreme Court, but said he doesn’t intend to ask them about the case that created those vacancies.”

Des Moines Register: “Onwuachi-Willig, who joined the law school faculty in 2006, told the state judicial nominating commission Tuesday that she had not yet finished the process for joining the Iowa bar, but was close.”

Honolulu Star Advertiser: “McKenna talked last week about being gay in the hopes that others will recognize that sexual orientation should not be a bar in achieving their goals.”

Des Moines Register: “Some members of the state panel that nominates finalists to the Iowa Supreme Court suggested this week they will consider applicants from outside the Des Moines area as a way to add geographic diversity to the bench.”

White House: “Today, President Obama nominated Judge Henry F. Floyd for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit . . . Judge Henry F. Floyd is a distinguished jurist without over 18 years of judicial experience. For the past seven years, he has served as a U.S. District Judge for the District of South Carolina.” | Judgepedia.

ABA Journal: Bush-Appointed Judge Who Ruled for Padilla Is Nominated for 4th Circuit

Politico: “Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, already exercising his expanded authority in the new Congress, says he is helping broker a bipartisan push to confirm a slew of federal judges and has kicked off plans to empower younger senators.”

The Blog of LegalTimes: “Leaders on the Senate Judiciary Committee are in discussions about whether to hold second confirmation hearings for some of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees, aides say.”

Des Moines Register: “A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit that claimed lawyer members of the state group that nominates people to become Iowa Supreme Court justices should be chosen by voters.”

New Jersey News Room: “Noteworthy is the nomination of Sohail Mohammed of Clifton to a Superior Court judgeship in Passaic County. Mohammed was counsel to many detainees picked up by federal authorities in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks. Mohammed gained the respect of authorities for trying to improve communications between them and the Muslim community after Sept. 11, 2001.”

NJ.com: “But now Rivera-Soto says he will vote on cases where Stern does not affect the outcome. That includes situations like the decision on a property dispute released Wednesday, where the vote was 6-1 vote — with Rivera-Soto dissenting.”

Southern California Appellate News: “Using the same resources, I’ve compiled possible successors to Justice Carlos Moreno. I’ve already introduced five of them, with extended bios. The complete Short List is her . . . ”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Newly elected GOP Sen. Ron Johnson [from Wisconsin] said Friday he should have been consulted before the White House resubmitted the nominations of Louis Butler and Victoria Nourse for federal judgeships and is at this time opposed to their confirmation.”

The Blog of Legal Times: “Senators spent little time during the past two years focusing on lower-court nominees for the federal judiciary. But as they convened today for the start of the 112th Congress, Senate Democrats have the issue on their minds.”

SCOTUSblog: “Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., with a not-so-subtle suggestion that the Senate should stop playing politics with nominations of judges to the federal courts, on Friday called for a ‘long-term solution to this recurring problem.’ In another notable feature of his annual year-end report on the federal judiciary, the Chief Justice notified Congress that the Court itself, through belt-tightening, will be asking for less money in its new budget than it did last year. The text of the report can be read here.”

The Hill: “President Obama used a recess appointment Wednesday to name James Cole as deputy attorney general. Cole’s nomination to the second-ranking post at the Department of Justice had been held up over objections from Republicans, who raised concerns over his tenure as an independent monitor of insurance giant AIG between 2005 and 2009. The federal government bailed out the company in 2008.”

The Oklahoman: “The Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission submitted the nominees Tuesday to Gov. Brad Henry after a daylong session of interviewing 14 finalists. In addition to Askins, the nominees are Judge John Fischer, of Oklahoma City, whom Henry appointed to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, and Oklahoma County District Judge Noma Gurich, of Oklahoma City.”

“The U.S. Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to lesbian law professor Chai Feldblum as President Obama’s nominee to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.”

Washington Times: “President Obama won two Supreme Court nominations in his first Congress, but his overall stamp on the federal judiciary has been muted as fights over judges have taken a lower profile than in recent years.”

Orin Kerr writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: “Nineteen judicial nominees have been confirmed in the last week. By my count, those nineteen confirmations include five circuit court confirmations: 1) Mary Murguia for the Ninth Circuit; 2) Scott Matheson Jr. for the Tenth Circuit; 3) Kathleen O’Malley for the Federal Circuit; 4) Raymond Lohier Jr. for the Second Circuit; and 5) Albert Diaz for the Fourth Circuit.”

Legal Blog Watch: “President Barack Obama’s nominees for three circuit judgeships and two district judgeships in Washington won confirmation today, as other judicial nominees remained in limbo.”

TPM Muckraker: “Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) railed against President Barack Obama’s nominees to the federal bench on Tuesday afternoon, complaining that Obama was only nominating individuals with ‘ACLU DNA’ and rattling off a list of potential judges who are now or have ever been a member of the American Civil Liberties Union.”

Boston Globe: “Governor Deval Patrick, deepening his imprint on the state’s highest court, nominated what would be its first Asian-American justice yesterday, declaring that the highest ranks of a state’s government should reflect the diversity of its people. He nominated Appeals Court Justice Fernande R.V. Duffly, 61, to fill the seat held by Roderick L. Ireland, who on Monday was elevated to chief justice, becoming the first African-American to lead the Supreme Judicial Court.”

Judgepedia: “President Barack Obama nominated Judge Bernice Donald to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.”

Judgepedia: “President Barack Obama nominated seven judges to U.S. District Courts across the nation.”

Blog of LegalTimes: “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit again has a majority of active judges appointed by Democratic presidents, after the Senate confirmed Raymond Lohier Jr. on Sunday.”

“After a monthslong blockade, Senate Republicans have agreed to let at least 19 of President Barack Obama’s non-controversial judicial nominees win confirmation in the waning days of the congressional session in exchange for a commitment by Democrats not to seek votes on four others.”

Politico: “The Senate unanimously confirmed four of 38 pending judicial nominations Thursday evening, the first of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees to be approved since September. The nominees—Catherine Eagles, Kimberly Mueller, John Gibney, and James Bredar—are the longest delayed district court nominees, who were each reported out of the Judiciary Committee unanimously. The nominations for Eagles, Mueller and Gibney were sent to the full Senate in May and Bredar was reported out of the committee in June.”

“The nominating commission that selects finalists for the Iowa Supreme Court announced a call for applicants this week to fill spots that opened with the ouster of David Baker, Michael Streit and Chief Justice Marsha Ternus. The search is proceeding despite a federal lawsuit filed last week . . . ”

Blog of LegalTimes: “Majority Leader Harry Reid wants the Senate to vote in the next week on the nomination of Bryan Cave partner James Cole to be the U.S. Justice Department’s No. 2 official.”

New York Times: “Nevertheless, at a time when an uncommonly high number of judicial vacancies is threatening the sound functioning of the nation’s courts, Senate Republicans are persisting in playing an obstructionist game. (These, by the way, are the same Senate Republicans who threatened to ban filibusters if they did not get an up-or-down vote on every one of President George W. Bush’s nominees, including some highly problematic ones.)”

Blog of LegalTimes: “U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said today he still wants to confirm more judicial nominees before adjourning for the year, but he gave no hints about what an agreement might look like.”

“The time line set forth today to pick three replacement justices for the Iowa Supreme Court officially eliminates the possibility that outgoing Gov. Chet Culver could make the appointments.”

“The Iowa State Bar Association continues to fully support Iowa’s system of merit selection of judges and the current form of the State Judicial Nominating Commission.”

” . . . yesterday, another justice on the court, Roberto A. Rivera-Soto, appointed by former Democratic governor Jim McGreevey, issued an opinion calling the chief justice’s move unconstitutional and announcing that he refuses to vote until the interim justice, an appellate judge, is gone . . . ”

Associated Press: “Sen. David Vitter, R- La., said in a letter to President Barack Obama that he was putting a ‘hold’ on the nomination of Dr. Scott Doney for chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He first wants answers to the tough new policy on offshore drilling announced earlier this month.”

Noticias de Noticias: “The Hispanic National Bar Association (HBNA) commends President Barack Obama for nominating the Honorable Esther Salas for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Similarly, the HNBA applauds the Senate Judiciary Committee for reporting out of committee by voice vote on December 1st The Honorable Edward Davila and The Honorable Diana Saldaña.”

Phyllis Schlafly writes at Townhall: “One of the greatest risks of the current lame-duck Congress is the possibility of Senate confirmation of President Obama’s radical appointments to federal courts, boards and agencies.”

Blog of the Legal Times: “The White House today received the names of nine lawyers who are finalists for three vacancies on the District of Columbia Superior Court.”

Eric M. George and William H. Neukom writes at the LA Times: “Vacant federal judgeships threaten our judicial system. It’s time for the president and the Senate to act.”

Clarion Ledger: “State Supreme Court Justice James Graves Jr. is poised to become a member of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. With Wednesday’s vote to confirm Graves’ nomination by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, it’s almost certain Graves will join the federal bench.”

CWA: “Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet and vote on Robert Chatigny’s nomination to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. Concerned Women for America strongly opposes his nomination.”

Providence Journal: “Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said Wednesday that the parliamentary process has been set in motion for a Senate floor vote this year on President Obama’s controversial nomination of Providence lawyer John J. McConnell Jr. to the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island.”

“Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said today that Democrats could move soon to end debate on the nominees. He said that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was lining up support this morning for what’s known as a cloture petition — the necessary paperwork before holding a vote to end debate.”

Boston.com (AP): “Gov. John Lynch plans to nominate Superior Court Chief Justice Robert Lynn to the New Hampshire Supreme Court and Supreme Court Justice Linda Dalianis to serve as chief justice.”

Talking Points Memo: “Democrats still control the Senate. So while the House passes legislation the Senate has no interest in considering, Majority Leader Harry Reid will have much more time, if he chooses, to devote to confirming a large backlog of Obama’s judicial and executive branch nominees — particularly numerous non-controversial picks, who will have to be renominated next year.”

Jan Crawford writing at CBS: “In his new book ‘Decision Points,’ former President George W. Bush offers some fascinating tidbits about what could be his most lasting legacy: the nominations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.”

Bloomberg: “Pushing the judiciary rightward has been a staple of Republican campaigns for decades. Part of the strategy, used by both parties, is to block judicial candidates named by a president of the opposite party. This became easier last week for Republicans, who were already doing quite well at it.”

The Boston Globe: “Governor Deval Patrick nominated a court veteran yesterday, Associate Justice Roderick L. Ireland, to lead the Supreme Judicial Court, an appointment that would make Ireland the first black chief justice of the nation’s oldest appeals court.”

Washington Post: “There are no perfect alternatives, but a merit selection system is preferable and would better shield judges from the most corrosive aspects of political elections. Governors could select a nominee who is then confirmed by the legislature.”

Blog of LegalTimes: “Tuesday’s election results, as well as retirements and other circumstances, mean there are likely to be a few openings soon on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee weighs in on nominations and on a diverse array of legislative topics, including national security, immigration and antitrust law.”

Boston.com (AP): “Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall has agreed to delay her retirement until a nominee to the court is confirmed . . . Marshall was first appointed to the bench in 1996 and became chief justice three years later. She wrote the state’s landmark ruling legalizing gay marriage.”

Linda Greenhouse writing in The New York Times: “I am eager to see whether Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will take a page from his mentor and criticize his fellow Republicans — who are functionally even if not formally in charge of the United States Senate — for their role in creating the current judicial vacancy crisis.”

Boston Globe: “The leading candidates include: SJC Justices Margot Botsford, Ralph D. Gants, and Roderick L. Ireland; US District Court Judge Patti B. Saris; state Appeals Court Justice Fernande R.V. Duffly; and Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Dortch-Okara. ”

Post-Gazette.com: “The state Senate is moving ahead on the confirmation of two new Common Pleas Court judges, including one in Washington County, even though Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Castille doesn’t want to add personnel due to budgetary problems.”

Law.com: “President Barack Obama’s recent nomination of Jimmie Reyna for one of three vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit covers all open slots and adds a candidate with deep international trade expertise. But court watchers expect that at least two of the confirmations to the 12-judge court, including Reyna’s, will stretch into next year.”

The Blog of LegalTimes: “The U.S. Senate late Wednesday confirmed Maria Elizabeth ‘Maribeth’ Raffinan to be a judge on the District of Columbia Superior Court, two months after she was nominated.”

White House: “Today, President Obama nominated Caitlin Halligan for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Jimmie V. Reyna to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit . . . ”

The Hill: “Democratic leaders have agreed to schedule pro-forma sessions of the Senate every week over the next six weeks, a move that will prevent Obama from making emergency appointments, according to Senate sources briefed on the talks.”

Associated Press: “A government official said Wednesday that Obama was nominating Caitlin Halligan, general counsel at the D.A.’s office, to the court. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the nomination had not been made public.”

Attorney General Eric Holder writes in The Washington Post: “Nominee after nominee has languished in the Senate for many months, only to be confirmed by wide bipartisan margins when they finally do receive a vote. As Congress finishes its last week in session before the November elections, our judicial system desperately needs the Senate to act.”

Charlotte Observer: “Of all the judicial nominees awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate, none has waited longer than Charlottean Albert Diaz. Now supporters hope the wait is about to end. Diaz, who would be the first Hispanic judge on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is among the nominees the U.S. Senate could consider before its expected recess this week.”

Robert F. Alleman and Jason Mazzone, The Case for Returning Politicians to the Supreme Court (September 28, 2010). Hastings L.J., 61, p., 1353, 2010. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1684194

“In the past few decades, prior service in the federal judiciary has become an increasingly important qualification for appointment to the Supreme Court. As a result, the Court has lost one kind of Justice who was very nearly a constant on the Court for 170 years: the politician who joins the Court after distinguished and prominent service in public life. Politicians of national prominence should be returned to the Supreme Court. These statesmen give legitimacy to the Court in an age when confirmation hearings are unrevealing. They have a history of accountability on concrete legal and political issues. They bring wisdom and skills that can improve the work of the Court. Today’s Supreme Court interprets and reviews statutes and decides issues of executive power without any Justice with experience voting on legislation or serving as a cabinet member. Former politicians can enhance the Court’s interactions with the other branches of government and predict and manage the political fallout from unpopular decisions.”