Patrick Leahy: “the Senate has confirmed the nomination of Maurice Hicks to be a United States District Court Judge for the Western…”

“the Senate has confirmed the nomination of Maurice Hicks to be a United States District Court Judge for the Western District of Louisiana. Maurice Hicks has spent 25 years as a litigator in Shreveport, LA, where he has appeared frequently in State and Federal courts. He comes to us with the support of his home State Senators. Mr. Hicks is the seventh nominee of President Bush to be confirmed to the Federal courts in Louisiana. Just this year, the Senate already confirmed Dee Drell and Patricia Minaldi to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. With these confirmations, there are no longer any current vacancies in the Federal courts in Louisiana. Under my chairmanship last Congress, the Senate Judiciary Committee held the first hearing for a Fifth Circuit nominee in 7 years. Judge Edith Brown Clement of Louisiana was promptly given a hearing in October 2001 and confirmed in November 2001, despite the fact that three of President Clinton's Fifth Circuit nominees never received a hearing, including H. Alston Johnson of Louisiana. The Democrats turned the other cheek on past obstruction by the Republicans in order to move forward. In fact, with Democratic support, the Senate recently confirmed another nominee to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Edward Prado, despite the fact that President Clinton's Hispanic nominees to that court, Enrique Moreno and Jorge Rangel, never received a hearing or a vote.”