George W. Bush judicial appointment controversies
Encyclopedia
During President George W. Bush's two term tenure in office, he nominated thirty-nine people for twenty-seven different federal appellate judgeships
that were blocked by the Senate Democrats either directly in the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the full Senate floor using a filibuster. Republicans labeled it an unwarranted obstruction of professionally qualified judicial nominees. Three of the nominees who were not processed (Paul S. Diamond
, Loretta A. Preska
and Philip P. Simon
) were nominated after July 1, 2008, the traditional start date of the unofficial Thurmond Rule
during a presidential election year. The Republicans claim that Senate Democrats of the 110th Congress on purpose tried to keep open particular judgeships as a political maneuver to allow a future Democratic president to fill them. Of the twenty-seven seats in question, nine were filled with the original Bush nominee, seven were eventually filled with different Bush nominees, nine have been filled with Democratic nominees by President Barack Obama
and two are still open.
During his presidency, Bush also nominated 23 people for 23 different federal district judgeships
who were never confirmed by the United States Senate.
academics became worried that he would begin packing the federal judiciary with conservative
jurists. Yale law professor Bruce Ackerman
wrote an article in the February 2001 edition of the liberal magazine The American Prospect
that encouraged the use of the filibuster to stop Bush from placing any nominee on the Supreme Court during his first term. In addition, law professors Cass Sunstein
(University of Chicago) and Laurence Tribe
(Harvard), along with Marcia Greenberger of the National Women's Law Center
, counseled Senate Democrats in April 2001 "to scrutinize judicial nominees more closely than ever." Specifically, they said, "there was no obligation to confirm someone just because they are scholarly or erudite."
On May 9, 2001, President Bush announced his first eleven court of appeals nominees in a special White House ceremony. This initial group of nominees included Roger Gregory, a Clinton recess-appointed judge to the fourth circuit, as a peace offering to Senate Democrats. There was, however, immediate concern expressed by Senate Democrats and liberal groups like the Alliance for Justice
. Democratic Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York said that the White House was "trying to create the most ideological bench in the history of the nation."
As a result, from June 2001 to January 2003, when the Senate in the 107th Congress was controlled by the Democrats, many conservative appellate nominees were stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee and never given hearings or committee votes.
, a nominee for the D.C. Circuit, became the first court of appeals nominee ever to be successfully filibustered. Later, nine other conservative court of appeals nominees were also filibustered. These nine were Priscilla Owen
, Charles W. Pickering
, Carolyn Kuhl
, David W. McKeague, Henry Saad
, Richard Allen Griffin
, William H. Pryor, William Gerry Myers III and Janice Rogers Brown
. Three of the nominees (Estrada, Pickering and Kuhl) withdrew their nominations before the end of the 108th Congress.
As a result of these ten filibusters, Senate Republicans began to threaten to change the existing Senate rules by using what Senator Trent Lott
termed the "nuclear option". This change in rules would eliminate the use of the filibuster to prevent judicial confirmation votes. However, in the 108th Congress, with only a two vote majority, the Republicans were in a weak position to implement this procedural maneuver.
On October 7, 2004, just prior to the presidential election, Senate Democrats issued a statement complete with statistics arguing that they were not obstructing Bush nominees in any systemic way. Although the included statistics showed that district court candidates nominated by Bush were being confirmed at a higher rate than those similarly situated candidates nominated by Presidents Ronald Reagan
and Bill Clinton
in their first term, it also showed that Bush's success rate at getting circuit court of appeals nominees confirmed during his first term (67%) was less than those of Reagan (85%) and Clinton (71%).
, in a deal to avoid the use of the "nuclear option", agreed to drop the filibuster against three of the seven remaining affected court of appeals nominees (Priscilla Owen
, Janice Rogers Brown
, and William Pryor
) but not two others (Henry Saad
and William Myers). In addition, the senators in the group agreed not to block future judicial nominees with filibusters except in cases involving "extraordinary circumstances".
As a direct result of the deal, the two filibustered nominees not mentioned in it (David W. McKeague and Richard Allen Griffin
) were confirmed, as was Thomas B. Griffith
, the person nominated to replace Miguel Estrada after his withdrawal. Griffith too had become the subject of controversy. Since Saad had no hope of a successful cloture vote to overcome his filibuster due to the deal, he withdrew his nomination in the spring of 2006.
At the end of the 109th Congress, a new controversy arose over William Myers and three other Bush court of appeals nominees who had not been specifically mentioned in the Gang deal but were still subject to its provisions: Terrence Boyle
, William J. Haynes, II
and Michael B. Wallace. These nominations were returned to the White House according to Senate rules on August 3, 2006 in advance of the annual August recess of Congress. When the Senate returned in September, it was only for a short period before a break for the 2006 midterm election. Although Boyle, Myers, Haynes and Wallace were renominated, again no action was taken on them in the Senate Judiciary Committee before the break, and their nominations were sent back a second time to the White House on September 29.
After the November 7, 2006 election in which Democrats picked up six additional Senate seats, President Bush again renominated the candidates whose nominations had been sent back to him in September. The Republican Judiciary Committee chairman, Senator Arlen Specter
, however, said that he would not process these nominees during the lame duck session of the 109th Congress.
. Among those stalled in committee until their nominations lapsed were appellate nominees Peter Keisler
, Robert J. Conrad
, Steve A. Matthews
and Glen E. Conrad
.
Senator Harry Reid
, the Democratic Majority Leader
, and Chairman Leahy
cited the previous controversy over President Clinton's court of appeals nominees in justifying why only ten Bush appellate nominees were confirmed during the 110th Congress. A total of eleven appellate seats with Bush nominees were left open at the end of the 110th Congress. Of those seats, two (i.e. the North Carolina and Maryland seats of the Fourth Circuit
) had originally become available to fill during the administration of President Bill Clinton
.
were both considered for federal appellate judgeships. Cox was considered for a California seat on the Ninth Circuit
and Keisler for a Maryland seat on the Fourth Circuit
. Both withdrew themselves from consideration before a nomination could be made because their homestate Democratic senators objected to them due to their perceived conservatism http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E3D61F30F937A15757C0A9679C8B63http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E3D71030F935A15755C0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. The California seat that Cox had been considered for was eventually filled by Bush nominee Carlos T. Bea. In 2005, Cox was nominated and confirmed as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a position he held until the end of the Bush administration in January 2009. The Maryland seat that Keisler had been considered for was to remain open the entirety of Bush's presidency with the failed nominations of Claude Allen
and Rod J. Rosenstein
. In 2006, Keisler was unsuccessfully nominated to a seat on the D.C. Circuit. In 2007, after the resignation of Alberto Gonzales
, Keisler became the Acting Attorney General
until the confirmation of Michael Mukasey. He left the Department of Justice
in March 2008 to return to private practice.
who never were confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Like the appellate court nominations mentioned above, many of these nominees were blocked by Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was controlled by the Democrats four out the eight years that Bush was in office. Twenty-one of these twenty-three nominees were blocked in the Democratic-controlled 110th Congress. Republicans claimed at the time that the Democrats were trying to keep these district court positions open for a future Democratic president to fill. Eventually, Bush declined to make nominations for 23 other current or future federal district judgeships in the 110th Congress rather than incur further Democratic obstruction.
Of the 23 federal district judgeship vacancies with actual nominees in place, 2 eventually were filled with a different Bush nominee, 13 so far have been filled with Barack Obama
nominees, 4 remain open, 1 became moot when the district judge decided not to retire and 2 never ended up becoming vacant because the district judge who had it never received confirmation to be elevated to an appellate court. In addition, one of Bush's 23 failed district court nominees, Oregon's Marco Hernandez, was subsequently renominated by Obama
to a federal district judgeship. He was confirmed in the 112th Congress.
The failed Bush district court nominees:
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
that were blocked by the Senate Democrats either directly in the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the full Senate floor using a filibuster. Republicans labeled it an unwarranted obstruction of professionally qualified judicial nominees. Three of the nominees who were not processed (Paul S. Diamond
Paul S. Diamond
Paul Steven Diamond is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a former federal judicial nominee to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit....
, Loretta A. Preska
Loretta A. Preska
Loretta A. Preska is the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and a former nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.-Background:...
and Philip P. Simon
Philip P. Simon
- Early life and education :Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Simon received a B.A. from the University of Iowa in 1984. He earned a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law in 1987.- Professional career :...
) were nominated after July 1, 2008, the traditional start date of the unofficial Thurmond Rule
Thurmond Rule
The Thurmond Rule is an informal and somewhat amorphous rule of thumb in the United States Senate. While it originated with former Senator Strom Thurmond's opposition to President Lyndon Johnson's nomination of Justice Abe Fortas to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in June of 1968, its...
during a presidential election year. The Republicans claim that Senate Democrats of the 110th Congress on purpose tried to keep open particular judgeships as a political maneuver to allow a future Democratic president to fill them. Of the twenty-seven seats in question, nine were filled with the original Bush nominee, seven were eventually filled with different Bush nominees, nine have been filled with Democratic nominees by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and two are still open.
During his presidency, Bush also nominated 23 people for 23 different federal district judgeships
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
who were never confirmed by the United States Senate.
The 107th Congress
Soon after the inauguration of Bush as president in January 2001, many liberalLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
academics became worried that he would begin packing the federal judiciary with conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
jurists. Yale law professor Bruce Ackerman
Bruce Ackerman
Bruce Arnold Ackerman is an American constitutional law scholar. He is a Sterling Professor at Yale Law School and one of the most frequently cited legal academics in the United States....
wrote an article in the February 2001 edition of the liberal magazine The American Prospect
The American Prospect
The American Prospect is a monthly American political magazine dedicated to American liberalism. Based in Washington, DC, The American Prospect is a journal "of liberal ideas, committed to a just society, an enriched democracy, and effective liberal politics" which focuses on United States politics...
that encouraged the use of the filibuster to stop Bush from placing any nominee on the Supreme Court during his first term. In addition, law professors Cass Sunstein
Cass Sunstein
Cass R. Sunstein is an American legal scholar, particularly in the fields of constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, and law and behavioral economics, who currently is the Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Obama administration...
(University of Chicago) and Laurence Tribe
Laurence Tribe
Laurence Henry Tribe is a professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School and the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. He also works with the firm Massey & Gail LLP on a variety of matters....
(Harvard), along with Marcia Greenberger of the National Women's Law Center
National Women's Law Center
The National Women's Law Center is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization founded in 1972. Through litigation and policy initiatives, the Center strives to improve the lives of women and their families in the areas of health, employment, family economic security, and education...
, counseled Senate Democrats in April 2001 "to scrutinize judicial nominees more closely than ever." Specifically, they said, "there was no obligation to confirm someone just because they are scholarly or erudite."
On May 9, 2001, President Bush announced his first eleven court of appeals nominees in a special White House ceremony. This initial group of nominees included Roger Gregory, a Clinton recess-appointed judge to the fourth circuit, as a peace offering to Senate Democrats. There was, however, immediate concern expressed by Senate Democrats and liberal groups like the Alliance for Justice
Alliance for Justice
Alliance for Justice is a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organizations in the USA....
. Democratic Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York said that the White House was "trying to create the most ideological bench in the history of the nation."
As a result, from June 2001 to January 2003, when the Senate in the 107th Congress was controlled by the Democrats, many conservative appellate nominees were stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee and never given hearings or committee votes.
The 108th Congress
During the 108th Congress in which the Republicans regained control of the Senate by a 51-49 margin, the nominees that the Senate Democrats had blocked in the 107th Congress began to be moved through the now Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee. Subsequently Senate Democrats started to filibuster judicial nominees. On February 12, 2003, Miguel EstradaMiguel Estrada
Miguel Angel Estrada Castañeda is an attorney who became embroiled in controversy following his 2001 nomination by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
, a nominee for the D.C. Circuit, became the first court of appeals nominee ever to be successfully filibustered. Later, nine other conservative court of appeals nominees were also filibustered. These nine were Priscilla Owen
Priscilla Owen
Priscilla Richman Owen is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She was previously a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court.-Early life:...
, Charles W. Pickering
Charles W. Pickering
Charles Willis Pickering, Sr. is a retired federal judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.- Background :...
, Carolyn Kuhl
Carolyn Kuhl
Carolyn Barbara Kuhl is a judge on the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri.-Background:...
, David W. McKeague, Henry Saad
Henry Saad
Henry William Saad is a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was born in Detroit, Michigan.-Background:...
, Richard Allen Griffin
Richard Allen Griffin
Richard Allen Griffin is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Previously, he was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.- Background :...
, William H. Pryor, William Gerry Myers III and Janice Rogers Brown
Janice Rogers Brown
Janice Rogers Brown is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She previously was an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, holding that post from May 2, 1996 until her appointment to the D.C. Circuit.President George W. Bush...
. Three of the nominees (Estrada, Pickering and Kuhl) withdrew their nominations before the end of the 108th Congress.
As a result of these ten filibusters, Senate Republicans began to threaten to change the existing Senate rules by using what Senator Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
termed the "nuclear option". This change in rules would eliminate the use of the filibuster to prevent judicial confirmation votes. However, in the 108th Congress, with only a two vote majority, the Republicans were in a weak position to implement this procedural maneuver.
On October 7, 2004, just prior to the presidential election, Senate Democrats issued a statement complete with statistics arguing that they were not obstructing Bush nominees in any systemic way. Although the included statistics showed that district court candidates nominated by Bush were being confirmed at a higher rate than those similarly situated candidates nominated by Presidents Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in their first term, it also showed that Bush's success rate at getting circuit court of appeals nominees confirmed during his first term (67%) was less than those of Reagan (85%) and Clinton (71%).
The 109th Congress
Things changed in 2005 due to the 2004 elections. With President Bush's re-election and the Republicans picking up further Senate seats (55-45) in the 109th Congress, the "nuclear option" became a more viable strategy to ensure confirmation. On May 24, 2005, seven moderate senators of each party, called the Gang of 14Gang of 14
The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
, in a deal to avoid the use of the "nuclear option", agreed to drop the filibuster against three of the seven remaining affected court of appeals nominees (Priscilla Owen
Priscilla Owen
Priscilla Richman Owen is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She was previously a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court.-Early life:...
, Janice Rogers Brown
Janice Rogers Brown
Janice Rogers Brown is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She previously was an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, holding that post from May 2, 1996 until her appointment to the D.C. Circuit.President George W. Bush...
, and William Pryor
William H. Pryor, Jr.
William Holcombe "Bill" Pryor, Jr. is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Previously, he was the Attorney General of the State of Alabama from 1997 to 2004.-Background:...
) but not two others (Henry Saad
Henry Saad
Henry William Saad is a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was born in Detroit, Michigan.-Background:...
and William Myers). In addition, the senators in the group agreed not to block future judicial nominees with filibusters except in cases involving "extraordinary circumstances".
As a direct result of the deal, the two filibustered nominees not mentioned in it (David W. McKeague and Richard Allen Griffin
Richard Allen Griffin
Richard Allen Griffin is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Previously, he was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.- Background :...
) were confirmed, as was Thomas B. Griffith
Thomas B. Griffith
Thomas Beall Griffith is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Before his appointment to the bench he was Senate Legal Counsel, the chief legal officer of the United States Senate...
, the person nominated to replace Miguel Estrada after his withdrawal. Griffith too had become the subject of controversy. Since Saad had no hope of a successful cloture vote to overcome his filibuster due to the deal, he withdrew his nomination in the spring of 2006.
At the end of the 109th Congress, a new controversy arose over William Myers and three other Bush court of appeals nominees who had not been specifically mentioned in the Gang deal but were still subject to its provisions: Terrence Boyle
Terrence Boyle
Terrence William Boyle is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He was Chief Judge of that court from 1997-2004. From 1991 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2007, he was a nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit...
, William J. Haynes, II
William J. Haynes, II
William James "Jim" Haynes II is an American lawyer and former General Counsel of the Department of Defense during President George W. Bush's administration. Haynes resigned as General Counsel effective March 2008...
and Michael B. Wallace. These nominations were returned to the White House according to Senate rules on August 3, 2006 in advance of the annual August recess of Congress. When the Senate returned in September, it was only for a short period before a break for the 2006 midterm election. Although Boyle, Myers, Haynes and Wallace were renominated, again no action was taken on them in the Senate Judiciary Committee before the break, and their nominations were sent back a second time to the White House on September 29.
After the November 7, 2006 election in which Democrats picked up six additional Senate seats, President Bush again renominated the candidates whose nominations had been sent back to him in September. The Republican Judiciary Committee chairman, Senator Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...
, however, said that he would not process these nominees during the lame duck session of the 109th Congress.
The 110th Congress
At the beginning of the 110th Congress in January 2007, President Bush did not renominate Boyle, Myers, Haynes and Wallace in an attempt at reconciliation with the Democrats. However, that did not stop many Bush judicial nominees from being blocked in committee by the new Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick LeahyPatrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...
. Among those stalled in committee until their nominations lapsed were appellate nominees Peter Keisler
Peter Keisler
Peter D. Keisler is an American lawyer whose 2006 nomination by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit became embroiled in partisan controversy...
, Robert J. Conrad
Robert J. Conrad
Robert James Conrad, Jr. is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to take the place of the retired James Dickson Phillips, Jr...
, Steve A. Matthews
Steve A. Matthews
Steve A. Matthews is an American lawyer and unsuccessful nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.-Background:...
and Glen E. Conrad
Glen E. Conrad
Glen Edward Conrad is a U.S. district judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia and a former federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.- Background :...
.
Senator Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
, the Democratic Majority Leader
Party leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
, and Chairman Leahy
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...
cited the previous controversy over President Clinton's court of appeals nominees in justifying why only ten Bush appellate nominees were confirmed during the 110th Congress. A total of eleven appellate seats with Bush nominees were left open at the end of the 110th Congress. Of those seats, two (i.e. the North Carolina and Maryland seats of the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:*District of Maryland*Eastern District of North Carolina...
) had originally become available to fill during the administration of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
List of stalled, blocked or filibustered nominees
- United States Court of Appeals for the First CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the First CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Maine* District of Massachusetts...
- Rhode Island seat vacated by Bruce M. Selya - William E. SmithWilliam E. Smith (judge)William Edward Smith is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and a former federal judicial nominee to the U.S...
(judgeship later filled by Obama nominee O. Rogeriee Thompson)
- Rhode Island seat vacated by Bruce M. Selya - William E. Smith
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
- New York seat vacated by John M. Walker, Jr.John M. Walker, Jr.John Mercer Walker, Jr. is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a cousin of U.S. Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush...
- Debra Ann LivingstonDebra Ann LivingstonDebra Ann Livingston is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.-Early life and education:...
(Livingston was nominated by President Bush in June 2006 but not allowed to be confirmed by Senate Democrats until May 2007) - New York seat vacated by Chester J. StraubChester J. StraubChester John Straub is a Senior Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit headquartered in New York City.-Life:...
- Loretta A. PreskaLoretta A. PreskaLoretta A. Preska is the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and a former nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.-Background:...
(judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Gerard E. LynchGerard E. LynchGerard Edmund Lynch is a United States federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was confirmed to that seat on September 17, 2009 after previously having been appointed in 2000 by President Bill Clinton to serve on the United States District Court for the...
)
- New York seat vacated by John M. Walker, Jr.
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...
- New Jersey seat vacated by Samuel AlitoSamuel AlitoSamuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
- Shalom D. StoneShalom D. StoneShalom David Stone is an American lawyer at the firm of Walder Hayden & Brogan in New Jersey, and was formerly a nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.-Background:...
(judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr.Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr.Joseph Anthony Greenaway, Jr. is a federal judge who sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and previously sat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey...
) - Pennsylvania seat vacated by Franklin Stuart Van AntwerpenFranklin Stuart Van AntwerpenFranklin Stuart Van Antwerpen is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He assumed senior status on October 23, 2006, on his 65th birthday.- Early life and education :...
- Gene E. K. PratterGene E. K. PratterGene Ellen Kreyche Pratter is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.-Background:...
, followed by Paul S. DiamondPaul S. DiamondPaul Steven Diamond is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a former federal judicial nominee to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit....
(judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Thomas I. VanaskieThomas I. VanaskieThomas Ignatius Vanaskie is a United States circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. From February 10, 1994 to April 26, 2010, he served as a United States district judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania...
)
- New Jersey seat vacated by Samuel Alito
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:*District of Maryland*Eastern District of North Carolina...
- Maryland seat vacated by Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr.Francis Dominic Murnaghan Jr.Francis Dominic Murnaghan Jr. was a United States federal judge.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Murnaghan received an A.B. from Johns Hopkins University in 1941 and was a U.S. Naval Reserve Lieutenant during World War II, from 1942 to 1946. He received an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1948...
- Claude AllenClaude AllenClaude Alexander Allen was the Assistant to the President of the United States for Domestic Policy in George W. Bush's White House and a withdrawn Bush judicial nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The African-American Republican was appointed to his White House...
, followed by Rod J. RosensteinRod J. RosensteinRod J. Rosenstein is the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.-Background:...
(judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Andre M. DavisAndre M. DavisAndre Maurice Davis is a jurist on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He previously was a federal district judge, and was nominated first for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit by President Bill Clinton in 2000...
) - North Carolina seat vacated by James Dickson Phillips, Jr.James Dickson Phillips, Jr.James Dickson Phillips, Jr. is a senior federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.-Early life and education:...
- Terrence BoyleTerrence BoyleTerrence William Boyle is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He was Chief Judge of that court from 1997-2004. From 1991 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2007, he was a nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit...
, followed by Robert J. ConradRobert J. ConradRobert James Conrad, Jr. is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to take the place of the retired James Dickson Phillips, Jr...
(Boyle was nominated by President Bush in May 2001. After waiting six years, President Bush withdrew his nomination January 2007, making this 2001-2007 nomination the longest court of appeals nomination never processed by the Senate; Robert Conrad was nominated July 2007, but the Senate Democrats refused to process his nomination during the Democrat-controlled 110th Congress; judgeship later filled by Obama nominee James A. Wynn, Jr.James A. Wynn, Jr.James Andrew Wynn, Jr. is an American jurist, currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and formerly on both the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court....
) - South Carolina seat vacated by William Walter WilkinsWilliam Walter WilkinsWilliam Walter Wilkins is a former United States federal judge.Born in Anderson, South Carolina, Wilkins received a B.A. from Davidson College in 1964 and a J.D. from the University of South Carolina Law School in 1967. He served on active duty for two years, in active reserves, and the South...
- Steve A. MatthewsSteve A. MatthewsSteve A. Matthews is an American lawyer and unsuccessful nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.-Background:...
(judgeship later filled by North Carolina Obama nominee Albert DiazAlbert Diaz (judge)Albert Diaz is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Diaz is the first Hispanic judge to serve the Fourth Circuit. Prior to his appointment to the U.S...
) - Virginia seat vacated by H. Emory Widener - William J. Haynes, IIWilliam J. Haynes, IIWilliam James "Jim" Haynes II is an American lawyer and former General Counsel of the Department of Defense during President George W. Bush's administration. Haynes resigned as General Counsel effective March 2008...
, followed by E. Duncan GetchellE. Duncan GetchellEarle Duncan Getchell, Jr. is an American lawyer and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Getchell is currently Solicitor General of Virginia.-Background:...
, followed by Glen E. ConradGlen E. ConradGlen Edward Conrad is a U.S. district judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia and a former federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.- Background :...
(judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Barbara Milano KeenanBarbara Milano KeenanBarbara Milano Keenan is a judge on United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and a former justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia.- Early life and education :...
)
- Maryland seat vacated by Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr.
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
- Mississippi seat, converted from a Louisiana seat vacated by Henry Anthony PolitzHenry Anthony PolitzHenry Anthony Politz was a United States federal judge.Born in Napoleonville, Louisiana, Politz was a U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1955. He received a B.A. from Louisiana State University in 1958 and a J.D. from Louisiana State University Law School in 1959...
- Charles W. PickeringCharles W. PickeringCharles Willis Pickering, Sr. is a retired federal judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.- Background :...
, followed by Michael B. Wallace, followed by Leslie H. SouthwickLeslie H. SouthwickLeslie H. Southwick is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and a former judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals...
(Pickering was filibustered by Senate Democrats and eventually withdrew his nomination; there was so much Democratic resistance to Wallace's nomination that it too was withdrawn; and Southwick was only confirmed due to the efforts of Democratic senator Dianne FeinsteinDianne FeinsteinDianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
) - Texas seat vacated by William Lockhart GarwoodWilliam Lockhart GarwoodWilliam Lockhart Garwood was a United States federal judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.Born in Houston, Texas to Wilmer St...
- Priscilla OwenPriscilla OwenPriscilla Richman Owen is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She was previously a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court.-Early life:...
(Owen was filibustered by Senate Democrats and only allowed to be confirmed under the terms of the Gang of 14Gang of 14The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
Deal)
- Mississippi seat, converted from a Louisiana seat vacated by Henry Anthony Politz
- United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Kentucky* Western District of Kentucky...
- Michigan seat vacated by James L. RyanJames L. RyanJames Leo Ryan is a former Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.-Biography:...
- Henry SaadHenry SaadHenry William Saad is a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was born in Detroit, Michigan.-Background:...
, followed by Raymond KethledgeRaymond KethledgeRaymond M. Kethledge is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.- Background :...
(Saad was filibustered by Senate Democrats; Kethledge was only confirmed after a deal in which failed Clinton nominee Helene WhiteHelene WhiteHelene N. White is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Previously, she was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.- Background :...
was allowed to replace Bush nominee Stephen J. Murphy III as a Sixth Circuit nominee) - Michigan seat vacated by Richard SuhrheinrichRichard Fred SuhrheinrichRichard Fred Suhrheinrich is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit serving in Lansing, Michigan.Born in Lincoln City, Indiana, Suhrheinrich earned his Bachelor of Science in 1960 from Wayne State University, his Juris Doctor with honors in 1963 from the Detroit...
- David W. McKeague (McKeague was filibustered by Senate Democrats and only allowed to be confirmed under the terms of the Gang of 14Gang of 14The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
Deal) - Michigan seat vacated by Damon KeithDamon KeithDamon Jerome Keith is a Senior Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.-Biography:Keith grew up in Detroit, where he graduated from Northwestern High School in 1939; Keith then moved on to West Virginia State College , Howard University School of Law , and Wayne State...
- Richard Allen GriffinRichard Allen GriffinRichard Allen Griffin is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Previously, he was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.- Background :...
(Griffin was filibustered by Senate Democrats and only allowed to be confirmed under the terms of the Gang of 14Gang of 14The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
Deal) - Michigan seat vacated by Cornelia Groefsema KennedyCornelia Groefsema KennedyCornelia Groefsema Kennedy is a Senior Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.-Biography:Kennedy grew up in Detroit, Michigan. She graduated at the top of her class from the University of Michigan Law School. After law school, she clerked for the chief judge of the U.S....
- Susan Bieke NeilsonSusan Bieke NeilsonSusan Bieke Neilson was a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and before that, a state trial judge in Michigan.- Background :...
, followed by Stephen J. Murphy III, followed by failed Clinton nominee Helene WhiteHelene WhiteHelene N. White is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Previously, she was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.- Background :...
(Bieke was only confirmed three months prior to her death after a four year battle over her nomination; Murphy's nomination was replaced by that of failed Clinton nominee Helene WhiteHelene WhiteHelene N. White is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Previously, she was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.- Background :...
at the behest of Democratic Michigan senator Carl LevinCarl LevinCarl Milton Levin is a Jewish-American United States Senator from Michigan, serving since 1979. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
) - Ohio seat vacated by David Aldrich NelsonDavid Aldrich NelsonDavid Aldrich Nelson was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Nelson was born at Watertown, New York, the son of Carlton Low Nelson and Irene Demetria Aldrich Nelson. He was educated in the public schools of East Aurora, New York, and at Hamilton College, from which...
- Jeffrey S. Sutton (Senate Democrats refused to process his nomination during the Democrat-controlled 107th Congress and he was only confirmed once Republicans assumed control of the house in 2003) - Ohio seat vacated by Alan NorrisAlan Eugene NorrisAlan Eugene Norris is a United States federal judge.Born in Columbus, Ohio, Norris received a B.A. from Otterbein College in 1957, an LL.B. from New York University School of Law in 1960, and an LL.M. from University of Virginia School of Law in 1986. He was a law clerk to Kingsley A. Taft of the...
- Deborah L. Cook (Senate Democrats refused to process her nomination during the Democrat-controlled 107th Congress and she was only confirmed once Republicans assumed control of the house in 2003)
- Michigan seat vacated by James L. Ryan
- United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:* Central District of Illinois* Northern District of Illinois...
- Indiana seat vacated by Kenneth F. RippleKenneth Francis RippleKenneth Francis Ripple is a Senior Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He received an A.B...
- Philip P. SimonPhilip P. Simon- Early life and education :Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Simon received a B.A. from the University of Iowa in 1984. He earned a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law in 1987.- Professional career :...
(judgeship later filled by Obama nominee David HamiltonDavid Hamilton (judge)David Frank Hamilton is a United States federal judge, currently serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He previously was the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. On March 17, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated...
)
- Indiana seat vacated by Kenneth F. Ripple
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
- California seat vacated by James R. Browning - Carolyn KuhlCarolyn KuhlCarolyn Barbara Kuhl is a judge on the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri.-Background:...
(Kuhl was filibustered by Senate Democrats and eventually withdrew her nomination; judgeship later filled by Bush nominee Sandra Segal IkutaSandra Segal IkutaSandra Segal Ikuta is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.- Background :Ikuta received a master's in journalism from Columbia University in 1978. She had previously attended Stanford University for two years before moving to University of California,...
) - California seat vacated by Stephen S. TrottStephen S. TrottStephen S. Trott is a Senior Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Trott was nominated for this position by President Ronald Reagan on August 9, 1987 after the seat held by Joseph Tyree Sneed, III became vacant...
- N. Randy SmithN. Randy SmithNorman Randy Smith is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He currently lives and maintains chambers in Pocatello, Idaho.-Background:...
(judgeship still open; Smith was later confirmed to the Ninth Circuit when he was renominated for an Idaho seat) - Idaho seat vacated by Thomas G. NelsonThomas G. Nelson (Idaho judge)Thomas G. Nelson was a United States federal judge.Nelson was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He received an LL.B. from University of Idaho College of Law in 1962. He served as Assistant state attorney general and chief deputy state attorney general of Idaho Office of the State Attorney General, from...
- William Gerry Myers III (Myers was filibustered by Senate Democrats; judgeship later filled by Bush nominee N. Randy SmithN. Randy SmithNorman Randy Smith is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He currently lives and maintains chambers in Pocatello, Idaho.-Background:...
)
- California seat vacated by James R. Browning - Carolyn Kuhl
- United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Colorado* District of Kansas...
- Oklahoma seat vacated by Stephanie Kulp SeymourStephanie Kulp SeymourStephanie Kulp Seymour is a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.-Early life and education:...
- James H. PayneJames H. PayneJames Hardy Payne is a federal judge sitting simultaneously on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma and the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma...
, followed by Jerome A. HolmesJerome HolmesJerome A. Holmes is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He is the first African American to serve on the Tenth Circuit.- Background :...
(Payne withdrew his nomination after allegations made by liberal organizations created the appearance of "extraordinary circumstances" which would not have allowed his confirmation under the terms of the Gang of 14Gang of 14The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
Deal; judgeship later filled by Bush nominee Jerome A. HolmesJerome HolmesJerome A. Holmes is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He is the first African American to serve on the Tenth Circuit.- Background :...
)
- Oklahoma seat vacated by Stephanie Kulp Seymour
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Middle District of Alabama...
- Alabama seat vacated by Emmett Ripley CoxEmmett Ripley CoxEmmett Ripley Cox is a United States federal judge.Born in Cottonwood, Alabama, Cox received an A.B. from the University of Alabama in 1957 and an LL.B. from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1959. He was in the U.S...
- William H. SteeleWilliam H. Steele (judge)William Howard Steele is an American attorney and judge. He serves as a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.- Background :...
, followed by William H. Pryor (Senate Democrats refused to process Steele's nomination during the Democrat-controlled 107th Congress and his nomination was withdrawn; Pryor was filibustered by Senate Democrats and was only allowed to be confirmed under the terms of the Gang of 14Gang of 14The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
Deal)
- Alabama seat vacated by Emmett Ripley Cox
- United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
- Miguel EstradaMiguel EstradaMiguel Angel Estrada Castañeda is an attorney who became embroiled in controversy following his 2001 nomination by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
, to seat vacated by Patricia WaldPatricia WaldPatricia McGowan Wald is an American judge. Wald served as the chief judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and served as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.Wald graduated from Connecticut College in 1948 and earned...
(Estrada was nominated May 2001, but was filibustered by Senate Democrats and withdrew his nomination after waiting over two years in September 2003; judgeship later filled by Bush nominee Thomas B. GriffithThomas B. GriffithThomas Beall Griffith is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Before his appointment to the bench he was Senate Legal Counsel, the chief legal officer of the United States Senate...
, who was only allowed to be confirmed under the terms of the Gang of 14Gang of 14The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
Deal) - John Roberts, to seat vacated by James L. BuckleyJames L. BuckleyJames Lane Buckley is a retired judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and previously served as a United States Senator from the state of New York as a member of the Conservative Party of New York from January 3, 1971 to January 3, 1977...
(Senate Democrats refused to process his nomination during the Democrat-controlled 107th Congress and he was only confirmed once Republicans assumed control of the Senate in 2003) - Janice Rogers BrownJanice Rogers BrownJanice Rogers Brown is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She previously was an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, holding that post from May 2, 1996 until her appointment to the D.C. Circuit.President George W. Bush...
, to seat vacated by Stephen F. WilliamsStephen F. WilliamsStephen Fain Williams is a Senior Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was appointed to the court in June 1986 by President Ronald Reagan, and took senior status in September 2001....
(Brown was filibustered by Senate Democrats and was only allowed to be confirmed under the terms of the Gang of 14Gang of 14The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
Deal) - Brett KavanaughBrett KavanaughBrett Michael Kavanaugh is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He formerly was Staff Secretary in the Executive Office of the President of the United States under President George W...
, to seat vacated by Laurence SilbermanLaurence H. SilbermanLaurence Hirsch Silberman is a senior federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was appointed in October 1985 by Ronald Reagan and took senior status on November 1, 2000. He continues to serve on the court...
(Kavanaugh was initially stalled by Senate Democrats and was only allowed to be confirmed under the terms of the Gang of 14Gang of 14The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...
Deal) - Peter KeislerPeter KeislerPeter D. Keisler is an American lawyer whose 2006 nomination by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit became embroiled in partisan controversy...
, to seat vacated by John Roberts (President Bush nominated him June 2006, but Senate Democrats refused to process his nomination during the 109th and Democrat-controlled 110th Congress; judgeship still open)
- Miguel Estrada
Others who were considered for nomination
In the spring of 2001, then-Representative Christopher Cox and lawyer Peter KeislerPeter Keisler
Peter D. Keisler is an American lawyer whose 2006 nomination by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit became embroiled in partisan controversy...
were both considered for federal appellate judgeships. Cox was considered for a California seat on the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
and Keisler for a Maryland seat on the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:*District of Maryland*Eastern District of North Carolina...
. Both withdrew themselves from consideration before a nomination could be made because their homestate Democratic senators objected to them due to their perceived conservatism http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E3D61F30F937A15757C0A9679C8B63http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E3D71030F935A15755C0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. The California seat that Cox had been considered for was eventually filled by Bush nominee Carlos T. Bea. In 2005, Cox was nominated and confirmed as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a position he held until the end of the Bush administration in January 2009. The Maryland seat that Keisler had been considered for was to remain open the entirety of Bush's presidency with the failed nominations of Claude Allen
Claude Allen
Claude Alexander Allen was the Assistant to the President of the United States for Domestic Policy in George W. Bush's White House and a withdrawn Bush judicial nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The African-American Republican was appointed to his White House...
and Rod J. Rosenstein
Rod J. Rosenstein
Rod J. Rosenstein is the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.-Background:...
. In 2006, Keisler was unsuccessfully nominated to a seat on the D.C. Circuit. In 2007, after the resignation of Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...
, Keisler became the Acting Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
until the confirmation of Michael Mukasey. He left the Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
in March 2008 to return to private practice.
Failed district court nominees
Bush nominated 23 people for 23 current or future federal district judgeshipsUnited States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
who never were confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Like the appellate court nominations mentioned above, many of these nominees were blocked by Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was controlled by the Democrats four out the eight years that Bush was in office. Twenty-one of these twenty-three nominees were blocked in the Democratic-controlled 110th Congress. Republicans claimed at the time that the Democrats were trying to keep these district court positions open for a future Democratic president to fill. Eventually, Bush declined to make nominations for 23 other current or future federal district judgeships in the 110th Congress rather than incur further Democratic obstruction.
Of the 23 federal district judgeship vacancies with actual nominees in place, 2 eventually were filled with a different Bush nominee, 13 so far have been filled with Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
nominees, 4 remain open, 1 became moot when the district judge decided not to retire and 2 never ended up becoming vacant because the district judge who had it never received confirmation to be elevated to an appellate court. In addition, one of Bush's 23 failed district court nominees, Oregon's Marco Hernandez, was subsequently renominated by Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to a federal district judgeship. He was confirmed in the 112th Congress.
The failed Bush district court nominees:
- United States District Court for the District of Rhode IslandUnited States District Court for the District of Rhode IslandThe United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified the Constitution...
- Lincoln D. Almond (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee John J. McConnell, Jr.John J. McConnell, Jr.John James McConnell, Jr. , also known as Jack McConnell, was formerly a Rhode Island lawyer and currently a United States district judge on the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. On May 4, 2011, cloture was successfully invoked on his nomination in a 63-33 vote. The...
)
- Lincoln D. Almond (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee John J. McConnell, Jr.
- United States District Court for the Northern District of New YorkUnited States District Court for the Northern District of New YorkThe United States District Court for the Northern District of New York serves one of the 94 judicial districts in the United States and one of four in the state of New York. The U.S. Attorney for the district is Richard S. Hartunian...
- Mary DonohueMary DonohueMary O’Connor Donohue is a Judge of the New York Court of Claims and a former Lieutenant Governor of New York State. She was first elected lieutenant governor in 1998 and reelected 2002 on a ticket with Gov. George Pataki.-Teaching and legal career:...
, followed by Thomas Marcelle (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Mae D'Agostino)
- Mary Donohue
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of PennsylvaniaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of PennsylvaniaThe United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
- Carolyn P. Short (judgeship was to become vacant when Judge Gene E. K. PratterGene E. K. PratterGene Ellen Kreyche Pratter is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.-Background:...
was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...
but Pratter was forced to withdraw due to Democratic opposition and was replaced by Judge Paul S. DiamondPaul S. DiamondPaul Steven Diamond is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a former federal judicial nominee to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit....
.) - Carolyn P. Short (judgeship was to become vacant when Judge Paul S. DiamondPaul S. DiamondPaul Steven Diamond is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a former federal judicial nominee to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit....
was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...
but Diamond never was confirmed to that post before Bush's presidency ended.)
- Carolyn P. Short (judgeship was to become vacant when Judge Gene E. K. Pratter
- United States District Court for the District of DelawareUnited States District Court for the District of DelawareThe United States District Court for the District of Delaware is the Federal district court having jurisdiction over the entire state of Delaware. The Court sits in Wilmington...
- Colm F. Connolly (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Leonard Stark)
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of North CarolinaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of North CarolinaThe United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina is the United States District Court that serves the eastern 44 counties in North Carolina. Appeals from the Eastern District of North Carolina are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The...
- Thomas Alvin Farr (judgeship still open)
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of VirginiaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of VirginiaThe United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia...
- David J. Novak (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee John A. Gibney, Jr.John A. Gibney, Jr.John Adrian Gibney, Jr. is an American lawyer and judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia...
)
- David J. Novak (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee John A. Gibney, Jr.
- United States District Court for the Northern District of West VirginiaUnited States District Court for the Northern District of West VirginiaThe United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia is a federal court in the Fourth Circuit The United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia (in case citations, N.D. W.Va.) is a federal court in the Fourth Circuit The United States District Court...
- William J. Powell (judgeship still open)
- United States District Court for the Middle District of LouisianaUnited States District Court for the Middle District of LouisianaThe United States Court for the Middle District of Louisiana comprises the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, Saint Helena, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana. Court is held at the United States Courthouse in Baton Rouge, Louisiana...
- David R. Dugas (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Brian Anthony JacksonBrian Anthony JacksonBrian Anthony Jackson is an American lawyer and the Chief United States district judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.- Early life and education :...
)
- David R. Dugas (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Brian Anthony Jackson
- United States District Court for the Southern District of MississippiUnited States District Court for the Southern District of MississippiThe United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit with facilities in Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Vicksburg, and Jackson....
- J. Richard Barry (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Carlton W. ReevesCarlton W. ReevesCarlton Wayne Reeves is a United States district judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. He was previously an attorney in Jackson, Mississippi.-Early life and education:...
)
- J. Richard Barry (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Carlton W. Reeves
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of MichiganUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of MichiganThe United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan is the Federal district court with jurisdiction over of the eastern portion of the state of Michigan. The Court is based in Detroit, with courthouses also located in Ann Arbor, Bay City, Flint, and Port Huron...
- Daniel P. Ryan (judgeship later filled by Bush nominee Stephen Joseph Murphy III)
- United States District Court for the Middle District of TennesseeUnited States District Court for the Middle District of TennesseeThe United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee is the federal trial court for most of Middle Tennessee. Based in Nashville, it was created in 1839 when Congress added a third district to the state...
- Gustavus Adolphus Puryear (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Kevin Hunter Sharp)
- United States District Court for the Northern District of IllinoisUnited States District Court for the Northern District of IllinoisThe United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is the trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois....
- John J. Tharp (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Sharon J. ColemanSharon J. ColemanSharon Johnson Coleman is a United States district judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She previously was a justice on the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, 3rd Division....
)
- John J. Tharp (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Sharon J. Coleman
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of WisconsinUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of WisconsinThe U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin serves the residents of twenty-eight counties from its two courthouses...
- Timothy G. Dugan (judgeship vacancy became moot when Judge Rudolph T. RandaRudolph T. RandaRudolph T. Randa is an Article III United States judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Judge Randa is currently the Chief Judge of the Court serving as the Court's lead judicial administrative officer in conjunction with the clerk of that Court. Judge...
decided not to retire in January 2009)
- Timothy G. Dugan (judgeship vacancy became moot when Judge Rudolph T. Randa
- United States District Court for the Western District of WisconsinUnited States District Court for the Western District of WisconsinThe U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin sits in Madison at the Robert W. Kastenmeier United States Courthouse. It has two district judges and one full-time magistrate judge. The clerk of the court is a part-time magistrate judge...
- J. Mac Davis (judgeship still open)
- United States District Court for the Central District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Central District of CaliforniaThe United States District Court for the Central District of California serves over 18 million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population...
- James Edward Rogan (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Jacqueline H. NguyenJacqueline NguyenJacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen is a judge from Los Angeles County, California and a former federal prosecutor. She is currently a United States district judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and a nominee to the U.S...
)
- James Edward Rogan (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Jacqueline H. Nguyen
- United States District Court for the District of HawaiiUnited States District Court for the District of HawaiiThe United States District Court for the District of Hawaii is the principal trial court of the United States Federal Court System in the state of Hawaii. It is located at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building in downtown Honolulu, fronting the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor. The court hears both...
- Frederick W. Rohlfing III (judgeship later filled by Bush nominee J. Michael Seabright)
- United States District Court for the District of OregonUnited States District Court for the District of OregonThe United States District Court for the District of Oregon is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union...
- Marco A. HernandezMarco A. HernandezMarco Antonio Hernandez is an American attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. A native of Arizona, he served as a Circuit Court judge in Washington County from 1995 until 2011, including as presiding judge for three years. He was nominated for a federal judgeship with the United States...
(Nominated by Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
on July 14, 2010 to the same position and confirmed on February 7, 2011)
- Marco A. Hernandez
- United States District Court for the District of ColoradoUnited States District Court for the District of ColoradoThe United States District Court for the District of Colorado is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Colorado. The United States Congress organized Colorado as a single judicial district on June 26, 1876, by 19 Stat. 61...
- Gregory E. Goldberg (judgeship still open)
- United States District Court for the District of WyomingUnited States District Court for the District of WyomingThe United States District Court for the District of Wyoming is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Wyoming and those portions of Yellowstone National Park situated in Montana and Idaho...
- Richard H. HonakerRichard HonakerRichard Henderson Honaker is a lawyer in Rock Springs, Wyoming who was nominated on March 19, 2007, by U.S. President George W. Bush to serve as one of three U.S. District Judges for the District of Wyoming. The nomination was given the highest "well qualified" rating by the judicial evaluation...
(judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Nancy D. FreudenthalNancy D. FreudenthalNancy Dell Freudenthal is a United States district judge on the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. She was also the First Lady of Wyoming from January 6, 2003 to January 3, 2011.- Early life and education :...
)
- Richard H. Honaker
- United States District Court for the Middle District of FloridaUnited States District Court for the Middle District of FloridaThe United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida serves the residents of thirty-five counties from eight courthouses....
- William F. Jung (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Charlene Edwards HoneywellCharlene HoneywellCharlene Vanessa Edwards Honeywell is a United States District Judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.- Early life and education :...
)
- William F. Jung (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Charlene Edwards Honeywell
- United States District Court for the District of ColumbiaUnited States District Court for the District of ColumbiaThe United States District Court for the District of Columbia is a federal district court. Appeals from the District are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a...
- Jeffrey Adam Rosen (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee James E. Boasberg)
- Michael E. O'Neill (judgeship later filled by Obama nominee Amy Berman JacksonAmy Berman JacksonAmy Berman Jackson is a District Judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.- Early life and education :...
)
See also
- United States federal judgeUnited States federal judgeIn the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
- Federal judicial appointment historyFederal judicial appointment historyThe appointment of federal judges has become viewed as a political process in the last several decades. This is especially true of U.S. Supreme Court and court of appeals appointments...
- filibuster
- cloture
- nuclear optionNuclear optionIn U.S. politics, the "nuclear option" allows the United States Senate to reinterpret a procedural rule by invoking the argument that the Constitution requires that the will of the majority be effective on specific Senate duties and procedures...
- Gang of 14Gang of 14The Gang of 14 was a term coined to describe the bipartisan group of Senators in the 109th United States Congress who successfully negotiated a compromise in the spring of 2005 to avoid the deployment of the so-called nuclear option over an organized use of the filibuster by Senate...