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Posted at 11:42pm on May 26, 2006 The Judge Report: At Long Last Kavanaugh! 05/26/06

By Dave II

Today, the Senate confirmed two judges: Brett Kavanaugh to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Susan Davis Wigenton to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.  One of them is cause for the most celebration since Alito's confirmation; the other for the most shrugging of shoulders since Milan Smith was confirmed.  Let's break it down by judge!

Brett Kavanaugh, nominated July 25, 2003 to the D.C. Circuit, was finally confirmed today just shy of three years.  Once one of the longest stalled nominees, he will now be one of the most influential judges.  At 41, he is not just young for a Circuit judge, but is now the youngest in the nation.  He is universally regarded as brilliant and steadfastly conservative.  A two-time graduate of Yale, with clerkships with Judge Stapleton of the Third Circuit and Justice Kennedy at the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh has worked briefly in private practice at Kirkland Ellis, and was part of Ken Starr's Office of Independent Counsel.  He has been with the Bush White House from the beginning, first as Associate Counsel, and since 2003 as Staff Secretary.  

Kavanaugh joins fellow Bush judges Janice Rogers Brown and Thomas Griffith on the D.C. Circuit, where he now tips the party divide on the court 7-3 in favor of the Republicans, with two vacancies left.  Kavanaugh replaces retired Judge Laurence Silberman, a respected Reagan appointee.

As everyone knows, the D.C. Circuit  is a court with unique power, second only to the Supreme Court in influence, and therefore the judges there must be selected very carefully.  Its jurisdiction over the lion's share of civil cases involving the federal government makes it uniquely influential over public policy involving the Administration and every federal agency.  It also hears the majority of cases involving the War on Terror.  With the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, it appears that Bush has indeed picked the right man for the job.  Kavanaugh should be another William Pryor, another Janice Rogers Brown, and another John Roberts--a great judge who can help straighten out the Art. III branch and return it to its proper and modest role of resolving "cases and controversies."  In other words, Kavanaugh is one of the shining stars among all of Bush's nominees.  His confirmation today was big.

If Kavanaugh's confirmation was in the tradition of William Pryor and Janice Rogers Brown, the other judge today was confirmed in the tradition of Milan Smith: a judge beloved by Democrats and insiders, but not many others.  Susan Davis Wigenton was supposedly nominated by Bush to the District Court in New Jersey at the request of New Jersey Democrats and in exchange for the confirmation of his other District Court nominees and Michael Chagares to the Third Circuit.  (That's what the news reports all suggested.)  Today, she's been confirmed, but the rest have not.  Her fellow nominees, the Republican carrots on the Democratic stick, will have to wait a little longer.  There is some good news though, Renee Bumb will get a vote on the morning of June 6th.  No word yet on the other nominees, Sheridan, and Hillman.

Wigenton replaces John Bissell, a Reagan appointee.

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Posted at 11:54pm on May 25, 2006 The Judge Report: Two New Nominees for D.C. Court of Appeals, 05/26/06

By Dave II

NOT the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.  We're still waiting for those nominees.

The D.C. Court of Appeals is the equivalent of a state supreme court for the District of Columbia.  It is not an Article III court.  It consists of nine judges appointed by the President to 15 year terms.  Tonight, the President nominated two new judges.  Let's break it down by nominee!

Anne Blackburne-Rigsby will replace Judge Frank Schwelb, a Reagan appointee, who is retiring.  Blackburne-Rigsby is currently a judge on the D.C. Superior Court, and was apparently appointed to that court by Clinton.  (Presidents make appointments from a field of three nominees recommended by a selection board.  This is supposed to weed out political favoritism and such.)

Phyllis D. Thompson will replace John Terry, who I imagine is a Reagan or G.H.W. Bush appointee, who is retired.  Thompson is an attorney at the law firm of Covington & Burling, and she graduated from George Washington Law School in D.C.

The court currently has only 8 active members, so the appointment of these two judges will restore it to 9 judges and a 5-4 majority of Republican-appointed judges.  Blackburne-Rigsby and Thompson will be the third and fourth judges appointed to the court by Bush.

Cross posted at ConfirmThem.

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Posted at 12:04am on May 24, 2006 The Judge Report: District Court Nominees Get Hearing, 05/24/06

By Dave II

Turns out my tipster last night was right.  The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on District Court nominees Andrew Guilford and Frank Whitney at 2PM on Wednesday.  Although the agenda lists other witnesses "TBA," that likely means Senators or other witnesses on behalf of Guilford and Whitney, not other judges.  Fifth Circuit nominee Michael Brunson Wallace is apparently being skipped over again for a hearing.  It is clear at this point that getting him confirmed will mean a tremendous fight.

Andrew Guilford , 55, was nominated on January 25, 2006 to fill a vacancy left by Dickran Tevrizian , a Reagan appointee, on the United States District Court for the Central District of California.  Guilford is a graduate of UCLA Law and, since 1975, has worked at Sheppard Mullin in California.

Frank Whitney , 46, was nominated on February 14, 2006 to fill a vacancy left by H. Brent McKnight , a previous Bush appointee, on the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.  Whitney is currently the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  He graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has worked in private practice, including Kilpratrick Stockton, and an earlier stint at the U.S. Attorneys Office during both Bush Administrations and the Clinton Administration.   Since 1982, Whitney has been in the Army Reserves.  North Carolina currently has five District vacancies, so his help on the bench is sorely needed.

Guilford has been rated unanimously "Well Qualified," but Whitney has only been rated unanimously "Qualified."  This despite Whitney having the more diverse experience, though Guilford has been practicing a few years longer than Whitney.  To me, this smacks of ABA prejudice against government and public service.  I may be wrong, but that's the only difference between the two that just jumps out.

The White House did not nominate any new judges tonight.  The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an Executive Business Meeting on Thursday, though the agenda is not yet out.  Ninth Circuit nominee Sandra Ikuta is likely to be part of it though.

Cross posted at Confirm Them.

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Posted at 7:52pm on May 22, 2006 The Judge Report: Cloture Filed on Kavanaugh, 05/22/06

By Dave II

Senate Majority Leader Frist filed cloture this evening on D.C. Circuit nominee Brett Kavanaugh.  This ensures that a vote on his nomination WILL take place this week before the recess.  Probably on Friday.

I remain hopeful that some other judges (probably District Court judges) will get confirmed this week too by unanimous consent.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on judicial nominatons on Wednesday, and an Executive Business Meeting on Friday.  The agendas don't have any names on them just yet, but when they do the Judge Report will let you know.

I've joined ConfirmThem as a blogger, so I will be cross-posting things from now on.

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Posted at 10:45am on May 19, 2006 The Judge Report: TWO New Circuit Court Nominees! 05/19/06

By Dave II

Last night, the White House nominated two new Circuit Court judges.  Let's break it down by nominee:

Kimberly Ann Moore to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  She is a law professor at George Mason University, and the Daily Journal had an article indicating that she is extremely well-thought of in the highly specialized field the Fed Cir operates in.  That article can be found online here.

Moore will be Bush's second appointment to the Federal Circuit, following Sharon Prost in 2001.  She will replace Raymond Clevenger III, who was appointed by G.H.W. Bush.  The Court is currently divided 7-4 among Republicans and Democrats.

Bobby E. Shepherd to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.  Since 1993, he has been a Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.  However, I have not yet found any other information as to what he did in the 17 years between graduating from law school and becoming a magistrate.  Anything that comes up will be placed in comments as updates.

Shepherd will be Bush's seventh (!) appointment to the Eighth Circuit, a court to which he has already appointed a majority of judges (6 of 11).  Shepherd will replace Morris Shepard Arnold, a G.H.W. Bush appointee, who has announced he will take Senior Status in October.  The Eighth Circuit is, by percentage, the most Republican in the nation with 9 of its 11 judges appointed by Republican Presidents.  Because Shepherd will replace a Bush I appointee that balance will not change.  But I'm happy to see it maintained!

The Senate did not confirm any new judges yesterday, and they are not scheduled to do so today.  Many District Court and several Circuit Court nominees continue to languish before them for who knows why.

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Posted at 7:08pm on May 18, 2006 The Judge Report: 9th Circuit Nominee Ikuta DELAYED!

By Dave II

Well, the delay in confirming judges continues.  After so much promise in late April/early May, the Senate has lost interest in confirming judges who are not related to Senators.

To that end, Sandra Segal Ikuta, who was on the agenda for today's Judiciary Committee meeting, was held over.  That is what was told to me when I called the Committee, and I didn't inquire as to specifics.  Could be they just didn't get to her (after all, there was a shouting match today over the Marriage Amendment).  There's always next week.

The only other news today is that the Committee has scheduled a hearing on Judicial Nominations for next Wednesday.  No announcement on which nominees will be at the hearing, but I hope it's Michael Brunson Wallace.  As the last of Bush's Circuit Court nominees to get a hearing, he's due.  There needs to be a very diligent and serious inquiry by the Republicans as to why a nominee with such a distinguished career was unanimously rated "Not Qualified."  With the information currently available about Wallace, that rating is simply mind-boggling.

There White House did not nominate any judges today.  They are letting the chances of getting new nominees confirmed slip through their fingers.  Pretty soon there will not be enough time to get new nominees through the grinding wheels of the Senate.

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Posted at 1:27am on May 17, 2006 The Judge Report: New 9th Circuit Judge CONFIRMED, 05/16/06

By Dave II

Today, the Senate confirmed the first new 9th Circuit judge in 3 years, and the White House nominated a new District Court judge.

Milan Smith was CONFIRMED, 93-0, to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today.  Smith, a moderate Republican, and brother of Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), was nominated by Bush on Valentine's Day.  Smith is 64 years old and has spent his career almost exclusively in corporate and real estate law.

Smith is the first new Bush appointment to the Ninth Circuit since Carlos Bea in 2003.  He is the fifth judge Bush has appointed to that Court (to compare other two-term Presidents, Clinton got 14 appointments to the 9th, Reagan had 10).  

Smith replaces A. Wallace Tashima, a Clinton appointee.  Confirm Them has reaction to Smith's confirmation here.  As of Smith's confirmation, the Ninth Circuit now boasts 9 Republicans and 16 Democrats.  It remains the most Democratic Court in the nation.

There are three other vacancies on the 9th.  Bush has named nominees for all the vacancies.  Two of them, Randy Smith and Sandra Ikuta are likely to be confirmed sometime between now and July.  (Gerry Myers, the third nominee, has been stalled forever and basically has no prospect of getting confirmed.)

Smith is only the second Circuit Judge confirmed this year.  Michael Chagares was confirmed last month to the Third Circuit.  Brett Kavanaugh will likely soon become the third judge confirmed.

Supposedly, the White House has got about 20 new nominees ready to go, but today it announced only one: Franciso Augusto Besosa to the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico.  He will replace Juan Perez-Giminez, a Carter appointee.  Generally, replacing Carter appointees is something to be happy about.

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Posted at 2:11pm on May 11, 2006 The Judge Report: Kavanaugh Free at Last! 05/11/06

By Dave II

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted three judges out to the Senate floor.  Let's break it down by nominee.

Brett Kavanaugh: Originally nominated to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on 07/25/03, two Committee hearings and nearly three years later, he finally moves to the Senate floor for a vote.  The Committee moved him out on a party line 10-8 vote.  This vote continues to demonstrate that elections matter and giving Democrats extra hearings doesn't.  Whenever Kavanaugh gets confirmed, he'll be replacing Laurence Silberman, a Reagan appointee.

Sean F. Cox: Nominated on 02/14/05 for the Eastern District Court of Michigan.  Over a year later he moves to the Senate floor on a voice vote.  The voice vote further shows that there's no controversy here; he's been held up for over a year merely because Michigan Senator Carl Levin has political grudges to nurse.  But he's finally relented.

Thomas L. Ludington: Nominated on 09/12/2002 to the Eastern District Court of Michigan, Ludington is one of the longest suffering Bush nominees in the Senate.  He's been waiting for nearly 4 years!  I've never heard of anything controversial about him, he just had the misfortune to be a Republican in a state with a bitter Democrat Senator.  He was moved out of Committee today on a voice vote and is at last on his way to helping the people of Michigan.

Both Ludington and Cox are currently state trial court judges in Michigan.

But when will their confirmation votes come?  Just last week, the Senate was practically on a warpath of confirmation, giving nominees votes almost every other night it seemed.  Now, however, all is quiet.  The Smith Boys and the New Jersey Four have been waiting for a week, and there hasn't been any word from Frist on when he will call for what should be easy votes.

Frist had previously promised that Kavanaugh would be confirmed by Memorial Day.  However, he's already backpedaling on his word.  Earlier today, Frist and Harry Reid announced on the Senate floor that next week they will again take up "Immigration Reform."  As Quin Hilyer is reporting at Confirm Them, Frist is starting to say that the immigration business could push Kavanaugh (and others presumably) back into June.  I'm with Quin, not getting these judges confirmed without delay would be a betrayal.  Unfortunately, it's only one of many we've seen from this Senate leadership.

If there are any confirmations or nominations later today, I will update this post in the evening.

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Posted at 8:47pm on May 10, 2006 The Judge Report: 2006 Is the New 2005! 05/10/06

By Dave II

The Summer of 2005, the Summer of Loathing, is back.  Last summer, tensions simmered and flared for months over several Bush judges who had been stalled and smeared for years.  For months we waited for a vote on the nuclear option to break Democrat filibusters only to have John McCain come charging in like Mr. Incredible to save us all from something we didn't want to be saved from.  What we got: a political compromise that broke the Republicans' spirit, got a few nominees confirmed, discarded a few more, and, most importantly, brought tremendous media coverage to John McCain.  When the Republicans lose seats in 2006 and McCain runs in 2008, remember.  The Gang of 14 is when the dreams of 2004 were washed away for the benefit of a man who desires the White House above all things.

And now, one year later, the fight is back.  The Gang of 14 ceasefire on judicial nominations is about to be tested, and Republican principles and determination to lead will be tested even more severely.  Today, the battle lines became more clearly drawn.

First, Fifth Circuit nominee Michael Brunson Wallace was given a unanimous (!) "Not Qualified" rating by the American Bar Association.  This rating is shocking, stunning, stupefying, and other words beginning with the letter S.  Wallace graduated from Harvard and the University of Virginia, clerked for Justice Rehnquist, and is a long-standing practicing partner in a Mississippi law firm.  Oh yeah, he's also general counsel for the Mississippi Republican Party and served as counsel to Trent Lott during the Clinton impeachment hearings.  See if you can guess why the ABA doesn't think he's qualified.

There is an unforunate history surrounding the seat Wallace is nominated to.  Originally, Bush picked Charles Pickering to fill it, but he was filibustered.  And after his recess appointment expired without a vote, he retired.  Bush has once again attempted to fill it with a qualified conservative, and once again it's clear that there interest groups out there who don't want it to happen.  The ABA rating will be used to justify blocking Wallace (People For the American Way has already called for his withdrawal), and I expect Dems will use this excuse to filibuster him.

Wallace's resume speaks for itself, and unless the ABA found something that the White House and the FBI inexplicably missed, he should be confirmed.  The White House and the GOP need to strongly support Wallace and expose this for the railroading it is.

In other news, J. Michael Luttig has resigned from the Fourth Circuit to become a wealthy Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Boeing.  Luttig, once considered a favorite for the Supreme Court, has been a pillar of conservatism and influence in the judiciary for the past 15 years, but it has become clear that he was not likely to get promoted to the Supreme Court anytime soon.  Not saying that's what prompted this, but Luttig is moving on.  I wish him well, but the country lost a fantastic judge today.

Finally, some good news!  The White House has nominated Neil M. Gorsuch to the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.  Gorsuch currently works at the Justice Department.  He will replace David Ebel, a Reagan appointee, in Colorado.  Gorsuch is a good conservative, and there will be a fight over him, just like there is over every good conservative (see Randy Smith, Michael Wallace, Brett Kavanaugh, Terrence Boyle, and on and on).  It's clear there will be some friction because he does not yet have the full support of his Senators from Colorado. (See here.)  Republican Wayne Allard is supporting him, but "moderate" Democrat Ken Salazar is reserving judgment.  (See How Appealing and Confirm Them for more.)

No other nominations or confirmations today.  We've lost one good judge today, but it's too bad the Senate hasn't seen fit to fill that void with the confirmation of some of the judges that have been waiting since last week.

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Posted at 8:18pm on May 9, 2006 The Judge Report: Kavanaugh Hearing Round 2, 05/09/06

By Dave II

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a second hearing on D.C. Circuit nominee Brett Kavanaugh.  

How Appealing has links to video and various reports on the hearing here.

The hearing was about 3 hours long, and at the end, Chairman Arlen Specter once again reiterated his intention to move Kavanaugh to the Senate floor this Thursday.  No word yet on whether the Dems will be able to delay this vote somehow.  The word from Republicans is that Kavanaugh's confirmation this month is practically inevitable, but it sure is a slow march towards inevitability.

And that's it.  The nominations and confirmations that we all know are coming very soon did not begin yet today.  Well, tomorrow's another day.

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Posted at 11:53am on May 6, 2006 The Judge Report: Smith Boys Sprung, Kavanaugh Stuck! 05/04/06

By Dave II

From Diaries...Krempasky

Big day today.  The Senate Judiciary Committee moved several judges out of Committee, and two District judges were confirmed.  (How Appealing has a link where you can watch the Meeting here.)  Good news first:

Two District Court nominees, Brian Cogan and Thomas Golden were both confirmed today with no "nay" votes.  Both were nominated on January 25th, so they were moved through pretty quickly.

More good news: the Smith Boys, 9th Circuit nominees Randy Smith and Milan Smith were moved out of Committee today.  Milan is being fast-tracked, and was moved out unanimously.  Randy was voted out on party lines, 10-8 (again demonstrating that elections matter).  Milan Smith will almost definitely be confirmed before the end of next week (hell, it might even happen tomorrow!), and Randy Smith might as well.  Nobody seems to know at this point, but there doesn't seem to be deep-rooted opposition to him outside of the Cali senators.  I think that means no filibuster, but low confirmation support in the vote.  The Smith Boys will be welcome additions to the most Democratic court in the nation.  There are four vacancies on that Court, but it looks like Bush will get three nominees confirmed this month, and that ain't nothing to sneeze at.

Also, four new District Court nominees, all for New Jersey, were moved out as well.  They are: Peter Sheridan, Noel Hillman, Susan Wiggenton, and Renee Bumb.  New Jersey hasn't had any new District judges in a while because of conflicts between the New Jersey Senators and the White House, but they've recently struck a deal (which I think included the nomination of Susan Wiggenton).  Only Michigan has as many District vacancies as New Jersey, so it's good that some new judges are on their way.  The New Jersey Four should all be confirmed by the end of next week.

Now the bad news: As Confirm Them reports, Brett Kavanaugh is being delayed a week.  There will be a hearing on Tuesday so the Democrats can try and embarrass the Bush administration, and then he'll be moved out on Thursday.  A one week delay in all.  He'll almost certainly be confirmed at the very end of May and not sooner.  Kavanaugh will make a hell of a judge, and he'll be a great influence on the D.C. Circuit, where the current Repub-Dem split is 6-3.

The Senate is starting to go through nominees like taxpayers' dollars, so the Judge Report will be constantly updating this month to let RedState readers know how the fight to win back the federal judiciary is progressing!

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Posted at 6:28pm on May 5, 2006 The Judge Report: Bush Names First Black Judge to Tenth Circuit, 05/05/06

By Dave II

Today's Judge Report collects and expands on the updates from the Thursday edition comments.

Last night, the White House nominated two new federal judges to replace two retiring Carter appointees.  It's usually a good rule of thumb that replacing Carter judges with W's is a good thing.  One of the new nominees, Jerome A. Holmes, if confirmed would become the first African American ever to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Let's break it down by nominee:

Jerome A. Holmes was nominated to serve on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Judging by the profiles of every judge at the Federal Judicial Center, Holmes would become the first African American judge on that court.  

Just this February, Holmes was originally nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.  However, last night his nomination to that court was simultaneously withdrawn as he was renominated to the more important Court of Appeals.

The vacancy to which Holmes is nominated was originally to be filled by James Hardy Payne, but he withdrew last month after new reports came out that he had improperly ruled in cases where he had financial holdings in the parties appearing before him.

Holmes was already vetted by the American Bar Association for his nomination to the District Court.  A "substantial majority" of those members who reviewd his nomination rated him "Qualified" for the position, but a minority said he was "Unqualified."  (See here.)  This rating is not a particularly good one, and I don't expect that it will get any more favorable when they review him again for the more presitigous position.  I'm a little surprised at this relatively low rating, considering Holmes graduated from Georgetown, served as an Assistant United States Attorney for 11 years, is a partner in a prestigious Oklahoma law firm, and is Vice President of the Oklahoma Bar Association.  It makes one wonder what would cause someone to think he's unqualified.  He's only 44, but that's not unusual for a Circuit judge (recently confirmed Third Circuit judge Michael Chagares is only 43).

The other nominee, Valerie Lynn Baker has been nominated to replace Consuelo Marshall, a Carter appointee, at the Central District Court of California.  Currently, Baker is a trial judge for the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Looks like the next Judge Report will be coming Monday at the earliest.  I don't expect any news during the weekend when the government doesn't do any work.

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Posted at 11:26pm on May 2, 2006 The Judge Report: Tuesday, 05/02/06

By Dave II

It's a primary day for states like Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina but the Judge Report remains doggedly on the trail of those exciting judicial nominees!  Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee had a hearing on "Judicial and Executive Nominations."

As the Judge Report correctly predicted yesterday, 9th Circuit nominee SANDRA SEGAL IKUTA was part of the hearing.  She is the last of the 9th Circuit nominees to get a hearing.  The only nominee to a Court of Appeals still awaiting a hearing is 5th Circuit nominee MICHAEL BRUNSON WALLACE.  The most conservative nominee is the last to get a hearing . . . what a surprise!  Maybe next week.

Two long-delayed District Court nominees were also finally given a hearing today:  THOMAS LUDINGTON (nominated 09/12/2002) and SEAN COX (nominated 02/14/05).  Apparently, Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow have struck a deal and will no longer block them.  Probably has something to do with Sixth Circuit nominee Henry Saad's withdrawal the other month.

I expect Ikuta, Ludington, and Cox will all be voted out of Committee next week.  The SJC will hold an Executive Business Meeting this Thursday.  As of right now, the agenda has not been released.  RANDY SMITH, BRETT KAVANAUGH, and four New Jersey District judges are supposed to be voted out, but I think Kavanaugh's chances will be touch and go up until it happens.  MILAN SMITH should also be sent to the full Senate on Thursday.

There are currently only two District nominees on the Senate floor right now: BRIAN COGAN and THOMAS GOLDEN.  Both will probably be confirmed any day, assuming the Senate keeps up its recent pace.  Next week the Senate should have some Circuit Court nominees to deal with, and will probably confirm at least one, and maybe two.  Look for the 9th Circuit to get as many as three new judges this month!

The Judge Report will return no later than Thursday to report on the SJC Executive Business Meeting.

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Posted at 6:32pm on May 1, 2006 The Judge Report: 05/01/06, New Judge Confirmed!

By Dave II

Today, the Senate continued its recently improved pace of confirming Bush's nominees to the federal district bench.  MICHAEL RYAN BARRETT, nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio was confirmed by a vote of 90-0.  He was nominated by Bush on December 16, 2005.  He replaces Walter Herbert Rice, a Carter appointee.  Trading a Carter appointee for a Bush appointee should be a definite improvement!

The confirmation of Barrett follows last week's confirmation of two District Judges, Patrick Schiltz and Gray Miller.  The previous week the Senate was in session, they confirmed Michael Chagares to the Third Circuit.  Hopefully, they will maintain this kind of pace for all of May.

BRIAN COGAN and THOMAS GOLDEN still await votes.  Judging by Frist's recent comments (he noted on the floor this morning that there are several district judges fresh out of Committee), they may both be confirmed within days.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on "Judicial and Executive Nominations" for tomorrow and an Executive Business Meeting for Thursday.  The agendas have not been released yet, but it's likely that 9th Circuit nominee SANDRA SEGALL IKUTA will be part of the hearing tomorrow.  Confirm Them has already reported that 9th Circuit nominee RANDY SMITH and D.C. Circuit nominee BRETT KAVANAUGH are likely to be voted out of Committee on Thursday.  I think 9th Circuit nominee MILAN SMITH and the four New Jersey District Judges are also likely to be moved out on Thursday.

When the agendas are updated you can count on the Judge Report to bring it to you!

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Posted at 3:33pm on Apr. 27, 2006 The Judge Report: Thursday, 04/27/06

By Dave II

Today, we have a confirmation and a report on the Senate Judiciary Committee's consideration of some judges at its Executive Business Meeting.

First up, PATRICK JOSEPH SCHILTZ was CONFIRMED yesterday night by unanimous consent to be a United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota.  Schiltz is a law professor at the University of Saint Thomas School of law and a former Scalia clerk.  Sounds like a great judge to me!

Secondly, the SJC meeting.  They considered two Circuit Court nominees (Brett Kavanaugh and Randy Smith), and three District Court nominees.  Confirm Them reports the following:

BRETT KAVANAUGH, for D.C. Circuit: Not addressed.  I'm not even sure what this means, but Ed Whelan thinks Kavanaugh will be reported out of Committee on May 4th.

RANDY SMITH for 9th Circuit: Held over again.  This is the second time now.  Sometimes this sort of thing lasts indefinitely.  We'll have to wait again for the next meeting (not yet scheduled).

District Judges, MICHAEL RYAN BARRETT, BRIAN COGAN, and THOMAS GOLDEN were all reported out unanimously.  They are the only District Judges on the Senate floor right now and will most likely be confirmed during the next weeks.

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