Thomas Vanaskie Confirmed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals

This afternoon, by a vote of 77-20 the Senate confirmed Judge Thomas Vanaskie to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Thomas Vanaskie has been a judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania since 1994, and from 1999 to 2006 he served as the district's chief judge. Today, Senator Specter (D-PA) took to the floor to praise Vanaskie as highly qualified, and urged his colleagues to support his confirmation. He was nominated to the Third Circuit by President Obama on August 7, 2009. Even though he was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 16-3 in December, he has waited over four months for final confirmation.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on the nomination of judge Denny Chin to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit tomorrow. While this movement is positive, it is only a drop in the bucket compared to the outstanding nominations awaiting final confirmation. Despite the fact that Jane Stranch, who was nominated on the same day as Vanaskie to the Sixth Circuit, has support from both home state Republican Senators, and was voted out of committe with a bipartisan vote of 15-4, she has yet to be scheduled for a vote even though she has waited nearly 260 days for confirmation. Also awaiting confirmation are Circuit Court nominees Alberto Diaz, and James Wynn in addition to 20 district court nominees.

Yesterday, in an effort to alleviate the slow pace of confirmations for both judicial and executive nominees, Senators Whitehouse (D-RI) and McCaskill (D-MO) took to the floor to call out the anonymous holds by the GOP that continue to obstruct the confirmation process. This video, from the Huffington Post speaks for itself:

American Idle: Democratic Senators Call Out GOP Obstruction

Democratic Senators took to the floor of the Senate today to protest the unprecedented level of obstruction towards nominees by their Republican colleagues.

The Obama administration has 64 nominees pending in the Senate.

There are currently 6 circuit court nominees awaiting a final confirmation vote:

• Jane Stranch and Thomas Vanaskie were nominated on August 6, 2009: pending 218 days
• Denny Chin and Rogeriee Thompson were nominated on October 6, 2009: pending 157 days
• Alberto Diaz and James Wynn were nominated on November 4, 2009: pending 128 days

Over half of Bush’s nominees were confirmed by either unanimous consent or voice vote. In this Congress, Republicans have required cloture votes on uncontroversial nominees such as as Barbara Keenan for the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals who was ultimately confirmed by a vote of 99-0.

That’s right, 99-0. The same people who requested the vote did not even voice opposition.

They are stalling not on the basis of the nominees’ records or qualifications, but simply to obstruct Obama’s nominees. In addition to Keen, there is the example of Judge Greenaway, despite the fact that he was reported out of committee unopposed and was confirmed without opposition, he had to wait 235 days—almost eight months—for a final vote where he was confirmed 84-0. Jane Stranch and Thomas Vanaskie are rapidly approaching that same timeline, both have been waiting 218 days.

There are currently 102 federal court vacancies, and according to the Senate Judiciary Committee, 31 of those vacancies are classified as “judicial emergencies” because of the size of the caseload in the court or the amount of time a seat has sat empty.

Senator Franken (D-MN) summed it up well during his speech on the Senate floor today:

American Idle: Once Again GOP Senators Perfect Art of Stalling

169 days after she was nominated, the Senate confirmed Judge Barbara Milano Keenan to a seat on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals by a vote of 99-0 today. Republicans raised no issues or concerns with Judge Keenan's record, but despite the fact that she was reported out of committee unopposed, they forced a cloture vote on her confirmation.

Even more shocking than the amount of time it took for Keenan to be confirmed, nearly six months, is the fact that no opposition was ever voiced. This is the 17th time that the Senate has filibustered one of President Obama’s nominees, and is part of a pattern of partisan obstruction.

This is the epitome of Republican Senators using procedural rules to obstruct uncontroversial nominees for no reason other than pure partisan politics. In 1991 Judge Keenan was elected to the Supreme Court of Virginia, where she has remained since.

Nominations to the federal courts of appeal are significant for obvious reasons, but the Fourth Circuit is unique. The Court has heard a significant number of cases involving the scope of executive power. And, a large number of civil rights claims related to race, gender, and employment discrimination are litigated within its districts. Although the Court has long been considered a bastion of ultraconservatism, after a series of departures it is now more evenly split. Thus, single additions to the bench—including Judge Keenan’s—will very likely impact the Court’s overall jurisprudential leanings.

American Idle: Dawn Johnsen committee vote delayed

On February 4, the Senate Judiciary Committee had scheduled a vote on Dawn Johnsen, nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel, but the vote never happened. After spending more than an hour considering other nominees also scheduled for votes, the committee ended its meeting because a number of senators had to leave to attend to other business, causing the committee to lose the quorum necessary to hold votes.

Johnsen is supremely well-qualified. Before a distinguished career as a Constitutional law professor, Johnsen served as acting head of the OLC for a full year during the Clinton administration. Her performance in this role was so exemplary that it was lauded by Republican-appointed Doug Kmiec, head of the OLC under presidents Reagan and Bush senior. Kmiec praised Johnsen’s independent judgment, saying that she “repeatedly separated policy preference from rendered opinion.” Johnsen also has the support of her Republican home state senator. Despite outstanding qualifications and recommendations, Johnsen’s nomination has sat idle in the Senate, requiring a second nomination by President Obama. Hopefully, with the support of Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Arlen Spector (D-PA), Johnsen’s confirmation vote will be able to successfully move past a legislative quagmire.

It is past time that Republicans in the Senate stopped reducing judicial and executive nominations into a partisan, ideological battlefield. The American people deserve a fully functional government that can ensure adherence to the rule of law. A proper OLC director with integrity and good judgment is crucial to that end. The office is routinely called upon to draw fine distinctions in the potential legality of proposed policies and executive orders, to ensure that the President follows established law. After gross misconduct of OLC attorneys in recent years, the OLC would be well served by a director with the experience, integrity, and intellect of Dawn Johnsen.