by Jeremy Leaming
The Senate’s confirmation of ten judicial nominees during the span of two weeks is welcome progress, but federal court vacancies remain high and a continued effort to move judicial nominations is needed, American Bar Association President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III says in letters to congressional leaders.
In Oct. 13 letters to Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.), Robinson writes, “Nothing less than a sustained, concerted, and cooperative effort will be sufficient to make
discernible progress in reducing the longstanding and dangerously high vacancy rate on the federal courts. And, as important, nothing less will assure litigants – businesses and aggrieved individuals alike – that our federal courts have sufficient judges to hear their cases in a timely and thorough fashion.”
In his letter to McConnell, Robinson (pictured) notes, “Despite the recent confirmation of ten judges, there are 92 vacancies on the bench today because of recent retirements and a death. Regrettably, this outcome is not an aberration or product of selective statistical reporting; even though the Senate has confirmed from one to seven judges every month this Congress, the vacancy rate continues to hover around 10 percent – right where it has been for the past 24 months.”
Concluding his letter to Reid, Robinson calls for more “agreements to schedule multiple nominees for votes on the same day at regular intervals throughout the remainder of this session.”
For more information on judicial vacancies and the status of nominations, see JudicialNominations.org
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