Political Quotes

“Madam President, there are currently 48 vacancies on courts that the Federal judiciary considers to be judicial emergencies. Let me restate that. Filling these vacancies is now such a priority that they are considered judicial emergencies. One of those vacancies considered to be a judicial emergency is one of the positions for the U.S. District Court for Oregon. My view is this problem is only going to get worse with another 20 judges having announced plans to retire. If these positions remain vacant, we all understand it could delay trials and certainly justice delayed is justice denied. The stalling of judicial nominations also discourages qualified candidates from serving on the bench. Those the country most needs on the bench cannot put their lives on hold for months or years while their nominations sit on the Senate calendar, blocked for no apparent reason. One of the things that is most striking about how the country has gotten into this predicament is that experts who have analyzed the situation with respect to the delay in getting judges confirmed come back to Senate procedures as a significant factor in the holdup. Repeatedly, these independent experts say the Senate's secret hold, the process by which one Senator, just one, can anonymously block a judicial nomination from being considered on the floor of the Senate, is a central factor in the delay in getting these judges confirmed.…”