Action in the Senate Judiciary Committee this Week

Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the nominations of Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit court of Appeal, Kevin Sharp to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Roy Dalton to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and Claire Cecchi and Esther Salas to the to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. This was Liu’s second hearing before the committee, and committee Republicans again posed questions that mischaracterized his record and judicial philosophy. For a good rundown and debunking of these mischaracterizations, you can read a recent blog post by Richard Painter, a Law Professor at the University of Minnesota and George W. Bush’s chief ethics counsel.

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee met in executive session and reported out Mae D’Agostino, nominee to the Northern District of New York, on a voice vote. The committee also held over votes until next week on six other nominees: Caitlin Joan Halligan, nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; Jimmie V. Reyna, nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; John A. Kronstadt nominee to the United States District Court for the Central District of California; Vincent L. Briccetti, nominee to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; Arenda L. Wright Allen, nominee to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Michael Francis Urbanski, nominee to the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. These six nominees will likely be reported out of committee next Thursday.

For the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on judicial nominations, visit the Alliance for Justice’s Judicial Selection Project webpage.