A lifetime appointment to the federal bench is now selling for $700,000. At least that was the cost for Rhode Island judicial nominee Jack McConnell, who has donated that sum of money to Democrats in the two decades before President Obama tapped him for federal district court. McConnell faces a Senate confirmation vote as early as today, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown that could open the floodgates for a series of other controversial nominees such as Goodwin Liu, Edward Chen and Louis B. Butler Jr. Obama’s selection of …
The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin its hearing today on the nomination of Elena Kagan to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Kagan is no stranger to the confirmation process; in fact, she devoted one of her few academic writings entirely to the subject, writing: The Senate’s consideration of a nominee, and particularly the Senate’s confirmation hearings, ought to focus on substantive issues; the Senate ought to view the hearings as an opportunity to gain knowledge and promote public understanding of what the …
At its Executive Business Meeting on February 4, 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent the nominations of Edward Chen, Louis Butler, Mary Smith, and Christopher Schroeder to the floor for consideration by the Senate. President Obama resubmitted those nominations in January after the Senate adjourned in December without acting on them. Chen, who has been nominated for a judgeship in the Northern District of California, was sent forward on a party line 12-7 vote. After three years in private practice, he worked as a staff attorney for the American Civil …
Former Attorney General Ed Meese hosted a panel to give President Barack Obama advice when on choosing his nominations for the the Supreme and Appellate courts. On the panel were Walter Dellinger, Stuart Taylor, and Jonathan Adler. Dellinger had a bevy of advice. First, he advised Obama to select someone who is humble. He said that opinions would be far more persuasive if they were honest, weighing both sides equally and walking us through the decision making process that lead them to whatever decision they made. He also said that …
Three of President Bush’s circuit court nominees will finally get an up-or-down vote in the U.S. Senate after Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) promised to end the obstructionism that had stalled action on judicial confirmations. Just last week the Senate voted for the first time in 2008 on five of Bush’s judicial nominees, including one circuit court judge. It was the latest date in an presidential election years since 1848 when James K. Polk was in the White House. During colloquy between Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tonight, …
