Commentary: Filling Eastern District of Pennsylvania judicial …

This week, the federal courts pass important milestones when United States District Judge Berle Schiller of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania assumes senior status after twelve years of dedicated service. /ppJudge Schillers action means that the judiciary has 75 openings out of the 858 appeals and district court judgeships and the Eastern District has five out of 22. These vacancies, which are nine percent of the positions system-wide and 22 percent in the Eastern District, erode the delivery of justice. Accordingly, President Barack Obama should promptly nominate, and the Senate must expeditiously confirm, lower court judges, so that the bench will be at full strength nationwide and in the Eastern District./pp Since the 1987 fight over Judge Robert Borks Supreme Court nomination, Democratic and Republican charges and countercharges as well as non-stop paybacks have plagued judicial appointments, mainly because of our divided government. Although Democrats presently control the White House and the upper chamber, they should work closely with Republicans to halt or ameliorate this counterproductive cycle./pp The 179 appeals court judgeships, twelve of which are vacant, are critical, as the twelve regional circuits are the courts of last resort in their regions for 99 percent of cases. Crucial are the District of Columbia Circuit that has openings in three of eleven judgeships and the Tenth Circuit with vacancies in two of twelve./ppPresident Obama has fully consulted by seeking guidance from Democratic and Republican home-state senators prior to actual nominations. Obama has selected 42 consensus nominees who possess even temperament and are very intelligent, ethical, hard-working and independent as well as diverse vis–vis ethnicity, gender and ideology. The President should continue cooperating with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the Judiciary Committee chair, who arranges hearings and votes, Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Majority Leader, who schedules floor debates and votes, and their Republican analogues to facilitate appointment. Obama must promptly nominate well qualified candidates for the three vacancies lacking nominees,

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