Qualified jurists nominated for federal judgeships way back in November are still waiting to have a committee hearing scheduled. They include Kara Farnandez Stoll, who would be the first woman of color on the Federal Circuit, and L. Felipe Restrepo of Pennsylvania, who would be the first judge on the Third Circuit with experience as a public defender. The Third Circuit vacancy has been designated a judicial emergency, and with another vacancy on that court opening on July 1, it is even more important not to keep delaying Restrepo’s already overdue hearing.
Yet a Grassley spokeswoman told The Legal Intelligencer (subscription required) that she “couldn’t even estimate” a timeframe for Restrepo’s hearing. Apparently, that’s because the committee is also working on other nominations. She said that processing the Loretta Lynch attorney general nomination had required “all hands on deck,” and that the committee was also preparing for the deputy attorney general nomination of Sally Yates.
Surely the committee is capable of handling both executive and judicial nominations.
A comparison to the Bush era is instructive, when the Democratic Judiciary Committee considered Michael Mukasey’s nomination to be attorney general. The committee received Mukasey’s nomination on September 21, 2007, held hearings, and advanced him to the full Senate on November 6. During that time, the committee was able to hold confirmation hearings on six judicial nominees and advance two to the full Senate. It was also able to advance an additional four judicial nominees the week after voting on Mukasey.
Fast-forward to now, a week after Lynch was advanced to the full Senate. The Judiciary Committee hasn’t held a hearing for circuit or district court nominees since January 21, a week before the Lynch hearing. In the meantime, the number of current vacancies has climbed from 40 at the beginning of the year to 47 today, and the number of judicial emergencies has jumped from 12 to 21.
Hearings for Judge Restrepo and other judicial nominees are long overdue.