June 21, 2011
Private: After Almost a Year, Senate Confirms District Court Nominee
Alliance for Justice, Dawn Johnsen, Goodwin Liu, Harold Koh
The Senate today confirmed Perkins Coie partner Michael H. Simon to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, by a vote of 64 to 35.
“The divided outcome on a nominee who was praised as a legal authority and highly qualified, reflected the slow and frustrating pace as well as the sharp partisan nature of nearly all confirmations,” reports The Oregonian.
Simon (pictured) was originally nominated by President Obama almost a year ago in July 2010, and had been approved by the Judiciary Committee twice, but the Senate failed to hold a vote on his nomination, despite the declaration of a judicial emergency in Oregon.
As Congress’s summer recess approaches, there are still 88 vacancies on the federal courts subject to Senate confirmation, 35 of which have been deemed judicial emergencies.
“This is a very intentional well-designed program to keep as many seats open so that a future Republican president will put judges on it,” said Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron on “The Rachel Maddow Show” yesterday. She continued:
As we approach an election, the window will start to close, so it is incumbent on the Senate, particularly the Democrats, to stand up and fight, and for the president as well to stand up and fight hard for his nominees. … We should never see anyone as good as Goodwin Liu filibustered by the Republicans. We have to stand up and fight for our people.
During an address Saturday at the ACS Tenth Anniversary National Convention, Department of State Legal Adviser Harold Koh also decried the obstruction of some of the most highly qualified nominees.
"We live in an environment where people like Dawn Johnsen [the president's initial selection to head the Office of Legal Counsel, also an ACS Board member] and Goodwin Liu can't get confirmed, when there is no one more qualified than they are,” Koh said. He added, addressing the audience:
I want to say to all of you, and especially my good friend Goodwin Liu, Washington is not the real world. Goodwin, in Washington you are controversial. In our world you are anything but. In our world, you are a hero.
Watch Koh’s full speech here and the segment from “The Rachel Maddow Show” here.