Three Nominees Confirmed; 23 Left Waiting

The Senate voted to confirm three nominees to U.S. District Court seats today.  Mark Raymond Hornak and Robert N. Scola, Jr. were confirmed by unanimous consent to seats in the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Southern District of Florida, respectively.  Robert David Mariani was confirmed by a bipartisan vote of 82-17 to a seat in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Mariani, nominated on Dec. 1, 2010, has waited 323 days to be confirmed to fill his seat which has been declared a judicial emergency by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.  It has been 91 days since he was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee without opposition on July 21.  Scola is also filling a judicial emergency vacancy; it has been 169 days since his nomination on May 4, 2011.  Hornak, like Mariani, has waited 323 days for his unanimous confirmation by the Senate.

For the most accurate, up-to-date information on the judicial selection process, visit the Judicial Selection Project page.

Senate Confirms Bissoon to the District Court

Today, the Senate confirmed Catherine Bissoon to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania by a bipartisan vote of 82-3. President Obama nominated Bissoon to the seat on November 17, 2010. It has been 335 days from her nomination to her confirmation by an overwhelming majority of senators.

The Senate took no action on 26 other judicial nominees currently pending on the Senate floor, 25 of whom were reported out of committee either unanimously or with strong bipartisan support and 9 of whom have been nominated to fill vacancies that are “judicial emergencies” as determined by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

For the most accurate, up-to-date information on the judicial selection process, visit the Judicial Selection Project page.