Senate Judiciary Committee Reports First Judicial Nominations
WASHINGTON (Thursday,
June 4, 2009) – The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday reported the
first judicial nominations of the 111th Congress.
Judge David Hamilton is a nominee to fill a vacancy on the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and
Judge Andre Davis is a nominee to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Committee also reported one
executive nomination to the Senate for consideration.
Thomas Perez is nominated to be Assistant Attorney General for the
Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice. All three
nominees appeared before the Judiciary Committee at a
hearing on April 21, 2009.
Hamilton’s nomination
was reported by the Committee by a vote of 12-7. The Davis
nomination was reported by a 16-3 vote, and the Perez nomination was
reported by a 17-2 vote. Hamilton first appeared before the
Committee during a
hearing on April 1, 2009. After a Republican boycott of the
April 1 hearing, Leahy invited Judge Hamilton to testify in a rare
second confirmation hearing on April 21.
Next week, the Senate
Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on two nominations,
Judge Gerard Lynch to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Second Circuit and
Mary Smith to be Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division at
the Department of Justice. Information about pending nominations
is available on the Committee’s
website.
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Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,
On the Hamilton Nomination
Executive Business Meeting
June 4, 2009
Today the Committee
voted to report favorably the nomination of Judge David Hamilton to the
Seventh Circuit, along with the nominations of Judge Andre Davis from
Maryland to the Fourth Circuit, and Tom Perez to be the Assistant
Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division.
The Committee’s
consideration of Judge Hamilton took a month longer than it should have,
in my view. His hearing was on April 1. Republicans
needlessly boycotted his confirmation hearing and requested a second
hearing. I accommodated them by including him in a second hearing.
Only one Republican Senator bothered to appear.
Judge Hamilton is a
well-respected, well-qualified nominee strongly endorsed by his home
state Senators, including the senior Republican in the Senate, Senator
Lugar.
As I have said
before, I view President Obama’s nomination of Judge Hamilton as
something to be commended rather than obstructed and delayed. The
President worked with both home state Senators, a Republican and a
Democrat, to select a highly-qualified and respected nominee.
Senator Lugar and Senator Bayh are both thoughtful Senators. Just
as I consistently sought to encourage President Bush to work with home
state Senators, and tried to expedite confirmation of his nominees when
he did, I tried to proceed promptly on the nomination of Judge Hamilton.
It should not have been delayed, it should not have been obstructed, it
should not have been reported on a party line vote with all Republican
Senators rejecting the strong endorsement of Senator Lugar.
Senator Lugar’s testified in support of Judge Hamilton. He
described him as “an exceptionally talented jurist” and “the type of
lawyer and the type of person one wants to see on the Federal bench.”
Senator Lugar continued:
“I have known David since his childhood. His father, Reverend
Richard Hamilton, was our family’s pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist
Church in Indianapolis, where his mother was the soloist in the choir.
Knowing first-hand his family’s character and commitment to service, it
has been no surprise to me that David’s life has borne witness to the
values learned in his youth.”
Senator Lugar also
praised the process he and Senator Bayh had undertaken for recommending
judicial nominees from Indiana, thanking Senator Bayh for “the
thoughtful, cooperative, merit-driven attitude that has marked his own
approach to recommending prospective judicial nominees” and his “strong
support for President Bush’s nominations of Judge Tinder for the Seventh
Circuit and of Judge William Lawrence for the Southern District of
Indiana.” I supported both of those nominees with the
endorsement of both of Indiana’s Senators and both were easily
confirmed. This nomination should be no different. President
Obama’s nominee is apparently being penalized because the President made
a prompt, bipartisan nomination in March. Judge Hamilton, his
family, Senator Lugar, the court, and the people who are served by the
Seventh Circuit, which includes Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, deserve
better treatment.
I call on Senators
from both sides of the aisle to heed the advice of the senior Senator
from Indiana, which he offered when testifying in support of Judge
Hamilton two months ago:
“I believe our confirmation decisions should not be based on partisan
considerations, much less on how we hope or predict a given judicial
nominee will ‘vote’ on particular issues of public moment or
controversy. I have instead tried to evaluate judicial candidates
on whether they have the requisite intellect, experience, character and
temperament that Americans deserve from their judges, and also on
whether they indeed appreciate the vital, and yet vitally limited, role
of the Federal judiciary faithfully to interpret and apply our laws,
rather than seeking to impose their own policy views.”
Senator Lugar
believes Judge Hamilton “is superbly qualified under both sets of
criteria.” So do I. Judge Hamilton is a well-respected
Federal judge not known for partisanship or an ideological agenda.
In light of his superb record, broad support, and unanimous “well
qualified” rating from the American Bar Association, it is no wonder
Judge Hamilton’s nomination for this important appellate seat has the
support of both home state Senators. He should be confirmed with a
strong bipartisan majority.
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