Wednesday, June 08, 2005

5:59 Cloture Invoked on Pryor Nomination With a vote of 67 to 32, cloture was invoked on the nomination of William Pryor to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit, meaning that a final vote on his confirmation will take place tomorrow around 4:00. 5:59:18 PM

5:40 Senate Confirms Brown Nomination Senator Patrick Leahy, the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, voiced his concerns about Justice Brown's extremist judicial philosophy and reminded his colleagues that Justice Brown's nomination failed to get consent in the Senate during the last Congress. To read Senator Leahy's complete statement on this nomination, click here. After continued debate, split along party lines, the Senate voted 56 to 43 to confirm Justice Brown's nomination. 5:39:41 PM

1:26 Debate Continues on the Nomination of Justice Brown A vote is scheduled to occur today at 5:00 on the nomination of Janice Rogers Brown to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the D.C. Court of Appeals. Resumption of debate on this nomination began with Senator Russ Feingold voicing his concern with Justice Brown, saying he feels she would rule based on her feelings rather than on the law. Senator Barack Obama came to the floor to refute the claim by members on the opposite side of the aisle that Democrats were opposing Justice Brown's nomination because she is black, and stated that he would hope Justice Brown could be judged on her merits rather than on the fact that she is a black woman. Senator Trent Lott came to the floor to discuss his support of Justice Brown's nomination, and defended Justice Brown's dissent in a case against a company that sold cigarettes to children. Senator Ted Kennedy urged his colleagues to remember that the judiciary is a separate but equal branch of government and that the Senate should take seriously its role to advise and consent.  He stated that Americans deserve judges that will treat each case fairly and pursuant to the law, and then concluded with saying that he thinks it's a misuse of the Senate's time to focus on judicial nominations "outside the mainstream" when there are so many important pieces of legislation that could be being debated.   1:26:08 PM