Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),

Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,

On Judicial Nominations

November 13, 2007

 

The Senate continues, as we have all year, to make progress filling judicial vacancies when we have the cooperation of the White House.  The nomination before us today for a lifetime appointment to the Federal bench is Robert Michael Dow, Jr., for the Northern District of Illinois.  He has the support of both home-state Senators.  I thank Senators Durbin and Obama for their work in connection with this nomination. 

 

After we consider the confirmation of this nominee today, the Senate will have confirmed 35 nominations for lifetime appointments to the Federal bench this session alone.  That matches the total number of judges confirmed for 2004.  It exceeds the total number of judicial nominations that a Republican-led Senate confirmed in all of 1999, 2005 or 2006 with a Republican Majority; all of 1989; all of 2001; all of 1983, when a Republican-led Senate was considering President Reagan’s nominees; all of 1993, when a Democratic-led Senate was considering President Clinton’s nominees; and, of course, the entire 1996 session during which a Republican-led Senate did not confirm a single one of President Clinton’s circuit nominees. 

 

Already this year, we have confirmed five circuit judges to the Federal bench, including  the nominations of Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod and Judge Leslie Southwick who became the fourth and fifth circuit court nominees we confirmed so far this year.  That matches the total number of circuit court judges confirmed in all of 1989 and all of 2004, when a Republican-led Senate was considering this President’s nominees.  It matches the number of President Clinton’s circuit court nominations confirmed by this time in 1999 with a Republican-led Senate and is five more than the Republican-led Senate confirmed in the entire 1996 session.  That was the session in which not a single circuit court nominee was confirmed.  It is more than were confirmed in the entire 1983 and 1993 sessions.

 

When this nomination is confirmed today, the Senate will have confirmed 135 total Federal judicial nominees in my tenure as Judiciary Chairman.  During the Bush Presidency, more circuit judges, more district judges -- more total judges -- were confirmed in the first 24 months that I served as Judiciary Chairman than during the 2-year tenures of either of the two Republican Chairmen working with Republican Senate majorities. 

 

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts will list 47 judicial vacancies and 14 circuit court vacancies after today’s confirmations.  At the end of the 109^th Congress, the total vacancies when Republicans controlled the Senate were 51 judicial vacancies and 15 circuit court vacancies.  Despite the additional 5 vacancies that arose before the start of the 110^th Congress, the current vacancy totals under my chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee are below where they were under a Republican led-Judiciary Committee. 

 

The President has sent us only 21 nominations for these remaining vacancies.  Twenty-six of these vacancies – more than half – have no nominee.  Of the 17 vacancies deemed by the Administrative Office to be judicial emergencies, the President has yet to send us nominees for nine, more than half of them.  Of the 14 circuit court vacancies, six – nearly half -- are without a nominee.  If the President would decide to work with the Senators from Michigan, Rhode Island, Maryland, California, New Jersey, and Virginia, we could be in position to make even more progress. 

 

Of the 26 vacancies without any nominee, the President has violated the timeline he set for himself at least 18 times -- 18 have been vacant without so much as a nominee for more than 180 days.  The number of violations may in fact be much higher since the President said he would nominate within 180 days of receiving notice that there would be a vacancy or intended retirement rather than from the vacancy itself.   We conservatively estimate that he also violated his own rule seven times in connection with the nominations he has made.  That would mean that with respect to the 47 vacancies, the President is out of compliance with his own rule more than half of the time. 

 

Today we consider the nomination of Robert Michael Dow, Jr.  He is a partner at the law firm of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, LLP, where he has worked almost his entire career.  He received his B.A. from Yale University where he graduated summa cum laude and his J.D. from Harvard Law School where he graduated cum laude.  A Rhodes Scholar, Mr. Dow earned a master and doctorate degrees from Oxford University.  Mr. Dow also served as a law clerk to Judge Joel M. Flaum on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

 

I congratulate the nominee and his family on his confirmation today.