On the recordMarch 2, 2010
today the Senate confirmed Justice Barbara Keenan to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit by a vote of 99-0. But the vote took place only after an unsuccessful Republican filibuster of her nomination. This is just the latest example of the new low to which Republicans have sunk when it comes to the treatment of judicial nominations. When the Democrats were in the minority under President Bush, we voted against cloture on a handful of his judicial nominees, but only the most controversial and only those for appellate court positions. Under President Obama, Senate Republicans have filibustered and stalled almost every judicial nominee sent forward, regardless of the court and regardless of the controversy. Take the case of Virginia State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Keenan. You would be hard pressed to come up with someone less controversial for this Fourth Circuit vacancy. Justice Keenan had the strong support of her home State Senators, Jim Webb and Mark Warner. She sailed through the Senate Judiciary Committee without a single vote of opposition. She received the highest possible rating from the American Bar Association. And she will be the first woman from Virginia to sit on the Fourth Circuit.
