One Year: Where Are the Judges?

[Joanne98]

Posted by Jeffrey Toobin
It’s an understatement to say that President Obama has had a busy agenda in his first year in office, so it may sound churlish to complain about something he hasn’t done. But to me the most surprising aspect of Obama’s first year has been his failure to take full advantage of one the great opportunities available to any President: the chance to nominate federal judges.

When Obama took office, there were more than a hundred vacancies on the federal appeals and district courts. One year into his tenure, Obama has made only thirty-one appointments to those courts, and just twelve have been confirmed. In George W. Bush’s first year, with a similar number of vacancies, he made sixty-four nominations. White House officials assert that ten new district court nominations are imminent, but the overall pace remains astonishingly slow. I wrote about this aspect of Obama’s Presidency last September, and the trend has continued.

Why is this? In part, it’s because a Supreme Court vacancy, which the President filled with the admirable Sonia Sotomayor, occupied the White House through the summer months. That successful nomination is both more important—and was more time-consuming—than any of the others. But there is another major factor as well. As a former Senator himself, the President is a believer in the tradition of senatorial direction of district-court nominations, and senatorial influence on appeals-court choices. The President wanted to include senators in the process, including those of the opposition party. It was an example of Obama’s post-partisan plans in action. If Republicans had a voice in the judicial nominations process, the theory went, partisan bickering would slow, if not cease, and the judiciary would inch away from the culture wars.

As in other areas, Obama’s hopes for post-partisanship failed when it came to the judiciary. Republicans have stalled on many nominations, fought others, and mostly done their best to slow down the pace. What’s perplexing is that Obama himself has not filled the pipeline with nominations; if he did, Republicans might feel some pressure to move the process along. Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has held prompt hearings for all of Obama’s nominees, but he can’t hold hearings on nominations that haven’t yet been made.
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Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2010/01/one-year-where-are-the-judges.html#ixzz0dMH4c1Uk

[T Wolf]

1. Even the few he has put up are by no means liberal or progressive. At best, they are center-reich,

just like the POTUS.

Why expect different?

[Bitwit1234]

2. If you are old enough to remember

during Clinton's two terms that was also a problem. Since the republicans had control of the house and senate they blocked practically all Clinton's judi cary nominations. Then when bush stole office he had a free reign to appoint all these way right leaning conservative judges. This is what they are hoping now. To block the nominations, get a republican in and again let them appoint right wing obstructions.

[Joanne98]

3. I seem to remember when Clinton let office there were 100 empty seats.