Patrick Leahy: “last week the Senate voted to confirm the nomination of John Rogers who is nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for…”

“last week the Senate voted to confirm the nomination of John Rogers who is nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. By confirming this nomination, we are trying to move forward in providing help to the Sixth Circuit. Earlier this year, we held a hearing for Judge Julia Gibbons to a seat on the Sixth Circuit, who was confirmed by the Senate on July 29, 2002 by a vote of 95 to 0. With last night's vote, the Democratic-led Senate confirmed the 15th judge to our federal Courts of Appeal and our 98th judicial nominee since the change in Senate majority in July 2001. I have placed a separate statement in the Record on the occasion of confirming that many of this President's judicial nominees in just 16 months. Republicans often say that almost half of the seats on the Sixth Circuit are vacant but what they fail to acknowledge is that most of those vacancies arose during the Clinton administration and before the change in majority last summer. None, zero, not one of the Clinton nominees to those current vacancies on the Sixth Circuit received a hearing by the Judiciary Committee under Republican leadership.”