On the recordFebruary 12, 2014
I wish to respond and further explain. We have two judges pending on the calendar right now. In the sequence of judges to be considered, they are No. 2 and No. 7; one is Timothy Brooks and the other is James Moody. Tim Brooks was nominated by the White House in June and came out of the Judiciary Committee in October. Jay Moody was nominated by the White House in July and came out of the Judiciary Committee in November. On the Federal bench in Arkansas district court level, we have eight judges. We now have two vacancies. I don't wish to be dramatic and declare a judicial emergency, but certainly people should understand we are only working at 75 percent horsepower right now and we need to get these judges confirmed forthwith. Yesterday, I stood at my desk and notified the Senate I was going to make this request. I did not receive an objection, as far as I know-- unless maybe a staff person talked to a staff person. But I never heard of any objection. It is bad enough to have 25 percent of our judiciary in Arkansas which needs to be filled, but the real urgency for this is a matter of State law. James Moody is an elected State court judge. He is an elected trial court judge. Under Arkansas law, this is a nonpartisan position. Our filing deadline for the 2014 election cycle opens on the 24th of February and it goes to March 3. So here is the problem: Today is February 12.…
