The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to approve President Obama’s nomination of Sri Srinivasan for the nation’s second most influential appeals court. Learn more from Gavel Grab.
"Judges must be perceived as beyond price. When litigants go to court they ... do not want the umpire calling balls and strikes before the game has begun."
Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice
Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice
Judicial Nomination News
GOP lawmakers continue to play politics with federal judicial nominees, bringing the confirmation process to a grinding halt, reports MSNBC. On Melissa Harris-Perry Saturday, the host and her guests discussed the problems that have led to a rise in judicial vacancies across the country.
The Senate confirmed Jane Kelly, an assistant public defender in Iowa, to the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday by a 96-0 vote. Gavel Grab has more.
No Republican senator signaled outright opposition, and Sri Srinivasan, a Justice Department official and high-profile judicial nominee, sailed through a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. For more, visit Gavel Grab.
Sen. Charles Grassley, at a high-profile Senate hearing on an appeals court nominee, announced legislation to reduce that influential Washington, D.C.-based court from 11 to eight judges. Gavel Grab has details.
The nation is facing “political paralysis” in the Senate over judicial confirmations, and it is time to consider bolder options to resolve the stalemate, a New York Times editorial declared. Read more in Gavel Grab.
The White House has launched a new offensive to win confirmation of lawyer Sri Srinivasan for the second most influential U.S. appeals court, and President Obama has become personally engaged. Learn details from Gavel Grab.
In a USA Today online op-ed, Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg warned states about dangers when they dismantle merit selection and emulate the federal model for selecting judges. Find out more from Gavel Grab.
After Senate Republicans blocked for a second time an up-or-down vote, President Obama withdrew the nomination of Caitlin Halligan for a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. Read Gavel Grab for more.
For the second time in less than two years, Senate Republicans have blocked President Obama’s nomination of Caitlin Halligan to the nation’s second most influential court. Gavel Grab has more.
The Senate confirmed William Kayatta Jr. to the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He was the first circuit court judge confirmed since June and the first federal judge confirmed by the Senate this year. For more, check out Gavel Grab.
William Kayatta Jr. of Maine, nominated in January 2012 by President Obama for the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, had support from both his Republican home-state senators. But partisan politicking nonetheless blocked an up-or-down Senate vote in 2012 on his appointment, which was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in April. That changed this week. On Wednesday, the Senate voted 88-12 to confirm Kayatta. See Gavel Grab for more.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg starkly portrayed what she sees as the great harm caused by partisan Senate battles over confirming court nominees. Read details at Gavel Grab.
After the Senate adopted new rules aimed at reducing gridlock, Justice at Stake said it was hopeful the Senate would move quickly to confirm nominees for the federal courts. Read Gavel Grab for more.
After the Senate adopted new rules aimed at reducing gridlock, Justice at Stake said it was hopeful the Senate would move quickly to confirm nominees for the federal courts. Read Gavel Grab for more.
Only days before her retirement, Justice Diane Hathaway was charged with bank fraud. Gov. Rick Snyder, preparing to choose a successor, steered away from setting up a judicial nominating commission. Find out more from Gavel Grab.
Embattled Justice Diane Hathaway will retire from the Michigan Supreme Court on Jan. 21. Justice at Stake urged that Gov. Rick Snyder create a nonpartisan advisory commission to help fill the vacancy. Learn more from Gavel Grab.
In his first term, President Obama lagged behind his two predecessors for getting judges confirmed. Both Republican obstructionism and delays at the White House in nominating judges were responsible, one media report said. See Gavel Grab for more.
The passing of federal Judge Robert Bork drew attention to his failed Supreme Court nomination in 1987, a fiercely politicized battle that altered the political landscape for judicial nominations. Read more in Gavel Grab.
The duty of the president and Senate to fill federal judgeships “has been terribly neglected and needs to be an absolute priority in the coming year,” a New York Times editorial declared. See Gavel Grab for more.
North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue’s failure to hold to an executive order establishing a Judicial Nominating Commission “is disappointing,” Justice at Stake said on Thursday. Learn more from Gavel Grab.
In votes during its lame-duck session on Wednesday and Thursday, the Senate confirmed three more nominees for federal judgeships. See details at Gavel Grab.
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called late last week for confirmation of 19 federal judicial nominations blocked by Senate Republicans. Read more at Tulsa World
The move to senior status of two of Montana's three federal district judges virtually ensures that the Obama administration will get to appoint their replacements, probably next year. Read more at The Missoulian
Judge David Sentelle has announced his intention to take senior status. The action creates a fourth vacancy on what is widely regarded as the nation’s second most influential court, the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. For more, see Gavel Grab.
