On the recordJanuary 5, 2011
in the closing days of the 111th Congress, a brief flurry of activity led to the confirmation of 19 long-pending judicial nominations. Regrettably, the stalemate that had prevented the Senate from confirming a single nomination between September 13 and December 16 resumed when Senate Republicans denied action on 19 other well-qualified, consensus judicial nominations reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ultimately, these nominations were returned to the President, including 15 nominations that received unanimous or near unanimous support in the committee. I suspect that when the President renominates these qualified individuals, they will be confirmed with overwhelming bipartisan support. The only question will be why we were unable to take action on them sooner. In his 'Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary,' Chief Justice Roberts rightly called attention to the problem facing many overburdened district and circuit courts across the country. The rise in judicial vacancies, which topped 110 in 2010, and an increasing number of judicial emergencies is of great concern to all Americans who seek justice from our courts.
