William H. Frist: “before the recess, the Senate confirmed Priscilla Owen to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Yesterday, we confirmed…”

“before the recess, the Senate confirmed Priscilla Owen to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Yesterday, we confirmed Janice Rogers Brown to the DC Circuit. And earlier today, William Pryor was confirmed to serve on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Apeals. All three of these judges had been waiting for years to get an up-or- down vote on the Senate floor. Until 2 weeks ago, all three of these nominees had been blocked by partisan obstructionist tactics. In a few minutes, we will give Judge Richard Griffin and Judge David McKeague fair up or down votes. We are making progress on fulfilling our constitutional duty to advise and consent. The judges before us now are nominees to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals--a circuit which includes Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and my home State of Tennessee. It is a circuit that desperately needs new judges. My circuit--the Sixth Circuit--has the highest vacancy rate and the slowest appeals process in the Nation. For the last 3 years, the Sixth Circuit has had the highest the vacancy rate for Federal judges in the nation. Twenty five percent--4 out of 16--of its seats are empty. All four have been declared judicial emergencies. These vacant judgeships have turned the Sixth Circuit into the slowest circuit in the country. Consider that the national average for an appeal is about 10 months. In the Sixth Circuit, it takes almost 17.…”