Arlen Specter: “I am confident, based on my personal knowledge of Judge Smith and his outstanding record, that he will be a credit to…”

“I am confident, based on my personal knowledge of Judge Smith and his outstanding record, that he will be a credit to the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. A total of eleven--yes eleven--judges within the Third Circuit, whose presence is desperately needed, would, I believe, have been confirmed and entered on duty but for the impasse. But for the impasse, Judge D. Brooks Smith would now be on my Court, which has three vacancies, two of them of long standing. We ``borrow'' judges in 45% of our cases, which is too much.”