Fact Sheet: Judicial Nominees

Every judicial nominee should receive an up-or-down vote in the full Senate, no matter who is President or which party controls the Senate. It is time to move past the partisan politics of the past, and do what is right for the American legal system and the American people. - President George W. Bush, August 1, 2003

Today's Presidential Action

Today, the President met with his North Carolina and Michigan judicial nominees whose votes have been unfairly delayed in the Senate.

All nine of the President's North Carolina and Michigan nominees are outstanding judicial candidates who deserve prompt consideration by the Senate.

• All nine have received well-qualified or qualified ratings from the American Bar Association.

However, some Democratic Senators have been blocking their confirmations.

• Six of these nominees have not even had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee - which is the first step in the judicial confirmation process.
• The President's North Carolina appeals court nominee has waited more than three years for a hearing.
• All four of the President's Michigan appeals court nominees have waited more than two years for a vote, and three have yet to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The extraordinary delays in the Senate are harming the administration of justice -- especially in North Carolina and Michigan.

• Six of these nine nominees are waiting to fill vacancies that have been designated judicial emergencies.
• Eight of these nine vacancies have been open more than 1,000 days. The North Carolina appeals court vacancy has been open for nearly ten years and is the longest standing vacancy in the country (3,629 days).
• One of the Michigan appeals court vacancies has been open more than nine years (3,355 days).
• The District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina vacancy has been open more than six years and is the longest standing district court vacancy in the country (2,404 days).
• These confirmation delays are occurring at time when the case filings in each of these courts are rising.

The President's Call to Action on Judicial Nominees

The President is fulfilling his constitutional responsibility to ensure a strong judiciary.

As of today, July 7, 2004, the President has nominated 225 individuals to the Federal courts - 51 to the circuit courts and 174 to the district courts. The President's nominees come from diverse backgrounds, share sterling credentials, and are superbly qualified, with the finest legal training, unquestionable character, and proven judgment.

The President's judicial nominees are highly respected and qualified men and women.

President Bush's nominees are the most qualified of any recent Administration, based on a review of American Bar Association ratings. Of the President's nominees who have been rated by the American Bar Association, 99% have been rated either well-qualified or qualified.

Some Democratic Senators are using unprecedented obstructionist tactics to block the President's judicial nominees.

A Senate minority composed of Democrats is obstructing the judicial confirmation process by waging unprecedented filibusters against some of the President's most important nominees -- those to the Federal courts of appeals. Six of the President's appeals court nominees who have been favorably reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee have been denied up-or-down votes. Each has enjoyed the support of a bipartisan majority of Senators and would be confirmed if given a vote.

Home-State Democratic Senators have also succeeded in delaying confirmation hearings on judicial nominees.

In this Presidency, more appeals court nominees have had to wait over a year for a confirmation hearing than in the last 50 years combined.

These obstructionist tactics are harming our judicial system.

The efforts of some Democratic Senators to delay the confirmation of President Bush's judicial nominees come at a time when filings in the federal courts are at an all-time high. More than one-third (11) of the President's 25 pending judicial nominees are waiting to fill seats that have been designated judicial emergencies.

The President has proposed a plan to fix the broken judicial confirmation process.

The President has proposed a plan that would return fairness and dignity to the judicial confirmation process and would apply no matter who is President or which party controls the Senate. Under the President's plan, judges would provide one-year advance notice of retirement, when possible; Presidents would submit nominations within 180 days of receiving notice of a vacancy or intended retirement, absent extraordinary circumstances; the Senate Judiciary Committee would hold a hearing within 90 days of receiving a nomination, and the full Senate would vote up-or-down on a nominee no more than 180 days after a nomination is submitted. Since announcing his plan, the President has submitted nominations within 180 days of receiving notice of a vacancy or intended retirement, absent extraordinary circumstances. And the Judicial Conference has adopted a policy for judges to give one-year advance notice of retirement. Regrettably, the Senate has not done its part. In many cases, it has unfairly delayed action on judicial nominations.

The President's Pending Judicial Nominees in North Carolina and Michigan

North Carolina nominees:

• Judge Terrence Boyle (nominated 5/9/01), nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Magistrate Judge James Dever (nominated 5/22/02), nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
• Robert Conrad (nominated 4/28/03), nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

Michigan nominees:

• Judge David McKeague (nominated 11/8/01), nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Judge Susan Bieke Neilson (nominated 11/8/01), nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Judge Henry Saad (nominated 11/8/01), nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Judge Richard Griffin (nominated 6/26/02), nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Judge Thomas Ludington (nominated 9/12/02), nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• Judge Daniel Ryan (nominated 4/28/03), nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan