Political Quotes

“Madam President, I am very proud to support the nomination of Caitlin Halligan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Caitlin Halligan has distinguished herself through her commitment to fairness, reasoned intellect, personal ethics, and a profound respect for the law. Unfortunately, it appears that some of my colleagues are determined to criticize her, regardless of the facts or her record. The major concern seems to be the workload demands for the DC Circuit. This is not a reason to oppose this candidate's nomination. In 2008, the Senate acted to reduce the number of seats on the DC Circuit from 12 to 11, increasing the caseload for each of the judges. Currently, there are only eight active judges on the DC Circuit, leaving the bench more than 27 percent vacant. That means the U.S. Circuit Court currently has three vacancies--three vacancies on a court that is currently handling more than 1,200 cases; three vacancies on a court that handles some of the most complicated decisions, including terrorism cases. Today we have the opportunity to fill one of these vacancies on the DC Circuit, often called the second most important court in the entire United States. The caseload of the DC Circuit has remained consistent since 2005, while the number of cases per judge has increased by 33 percent. If Ms.…”