ConfirmThem

http://www.uscourts.gov/cfapps/webnovada/CF_FB_301/index.cfm?fuseaction=...

Chester J. Straub, a Clinton appointee from New York, is taking senior status on July 16th. He must be pretty sure that Schumer and Hillary will prevent Bush from filling his seat. Actually, I anticipate more Dem-appointed COA judges to announce their imminent retirements in the last six months of Bush's term. With the election looming, they know Leahy and Reid will want to keep their seats open for a Dem president in 2009 to fill.

Now nominate Lemons too, George. Cripes almighty. Unreal. Of course, he finally caves to the list when it'll do no good. As I've said many times before, Nixon, Truman & Harding just have to be shaking their heads that they can't play poker with this Administration.

STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which SCALIA, J., joined.

As long as Agee has Webb's approval, I think he will get confirmed AFTER Pratter and BEFORE any consideration of Keisler, Conrad or Matthews. It will be interesting now to see if the White House nominates another off of Webb's list. I wonder if the White House will delay action on the second nomination until they see how Webb treats Agee.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/judicialnominees/agee.html

"Justice G. Steven Agee is an experienced attorney, dedicated public servant, and respected judge, who is admired for his intelligence, fairness, integrity, and temperament."

Justice Agee was a Republican leader in the House of Delegates before running unsuccessfully for VA Atty General. Then private practice, then the VA SC. Why he wasn't nominated earlier is part of the enduring mysteries of the Bush administration, "where pointless, losing battles are always worth fighting"

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hRmz9eWnRYXNaJk5RMwFIylrVvfgD8VCRVEG1

"Bush wants the Senate to consider Agee's nomination swiftly because heavy caseloads and the duration of vacancies have created a "judicial emergency" at the 4th Circuit, [White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore] said."

"Tobias said it's unclear, however, whether there will be time for Bush's nominee to be confirmed. Judicial nominees must go through security checks, American Bar Association evaluations and Senate hearings and votes.

Typically, "appointments slow down in an election year and stop after the (political) conventions," Tobias said. "If the Virginia senators push, Agee could be confirmed, though he would have to move ahead of a number in the queue.""

This super-duper precedent being established that paragraph 2 of Article II Section 2 now reads as follows:

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate from a list of choices supplied by the Senate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

will revert back to the original wording.

At least if we have a Democrat in the White House.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1205405284525

""At the pace we're going, we will be lucky to get to 10 [appellate confirmations]," says Curt Levey, the executive director of the conservative Committee for Justice. Levey says he expects the Senate to move on no more than four circuit judgeships this year, an extraordinarily low number."

"The current battle reached a crescendo a month ago when Senate Democrats learned that the president planned to stage an event during the Conservative Political Action Conference to highlight their lack of progress on his nominations.

Reid, D-Nev., took to the Senate floor on Feb. 6 and disclosed that negotiations with the White House had broken down in December after Bush signaled he would use his recess appointment powers to confirm Steven Bradbury for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel."

""We're at loggerheads right now," says Jim Manley, Reid's spokesman. Manley says more pro forma sessions remain an option for upcoming holiday breaks, including the Easter recess that runs from March 15 to March 30. "We will not rule them out. Based on what we have seen, they are more than likely."

White House spokeswoman Lawrimore says talks fell apart because Democrats wanted too much control over the process: "We felt like they were asking for the president to forego his presidential authority to recess appoint at a time when it's sometimes very challenging to ensure that nominees get an up or down vote."

Some legal scholars and liberal groups say part of the reason judicial nominees aren't moving is that Bush hasn't pushed people that home state senators wanted on the bench."

"Lawrimore says home-state senators' opinions have been considered before announcing a nominee. "We value the input of home-state senators and certainly take their opinions into consideration during the selection process," she says.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has insisted on home-state senator backing for any nominee. The only circuit court nominee to receive a hearing this year has been Catharina Haynes, a Baker Botts litigation partner and former elected Dallas judge who was nominated last July to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Haynes has support from Texas' GOP Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson. At least three other circuit nominees have home-state backing.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., meanwhile, has been pushing senators to move on the nomination of Robert Conrad Jr., chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Bush picked Conrad for a seat on the 4th Circuit last July. Burr has been lobbying colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, his office says. In a statement, Burr said: "Having more North Carolinians on the circuit court remains a top priority of mine and I will continue to push for a Senate hearing for Judge Conrad.""

Although published today, the article appears to have written before Agee's nomination yesterday because neither Agee nor the fact that he was pre-approved by Dem Webb are mentioned in it.

In addition, the article has some factual errors in it:

"The Judiciary Committee this year has already held confirmation hearings for six district judge candidates -- five of whom are scheduled to be voted on by the committee this week."

While it is true that the SJC has held hearings on six district court nominees, four out of six were voted out of committee PRIOR to this week and none were scheduled for a committee vote this week in the postponed (now cancelled?) business meeting set for yesterday. Only Haynes, a COA nominee, was on the agenda for that meeting.

I expect that Agee will bump one of the other Fourth Circuit nominees out of contention. I suspect that the Dems in the Senate will confirm Haynes, Pratter, Agee and ONE other COA nominee this year. That nominee is likely to be Robert Conrad of North Carolina. The longer the wait, the less likely Keisler can be confirmed. In addition, Agee's and Conrad's confirmations give the Dems perfect cover in avoiding dealing with Steve A. Matthews of South Carolina. I suspect the Dems hate him the most of all Bush's COA nominees who are supported by both homestate senators because he more than any other smacks of being a movement conservative with his Reagan White House background and clerkship for Clarence Thomas. I also am not so sure that Lindsay Graham and Jim DeMint really support him underneath all their public rhetoric to the contrary.

http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2008/03/bush-taps-va-su.html

"Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor, says Bush took too long in forwarding Agee's nomination. "It's probably irrelevant because it's too late. It may reflect that the White House finally recognizes that it has to work with the senators. So I think that's progress on the part of the White House. Maybe it’s pragmatic realism.""

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-03-14-...

""Agee was among this list of outstanding candidates," Webb said in a statement. "I am pleased that the president has advanced the process by nominating Judge Agee to the Fourth Circuit."

The Warner and Webb consensus is key, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.

This [nomination] is a promising development if you want to see these seats filled, and I think it is important to have them filled," he said.

"I think he has balanced judicial temperament from what I understand," Tobias said of Agee, adding: "I think he would be characterized," as a "moderate to conservative Republican" during his service in the state legislature, "not overly ideological.""

"The Agee nomination "shows the White House is respectful of recommendations of the two home state senators," Webb spokeswoman Jessica Smith said."

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/154584

""I am pleased that President Bush has selected a Virginian of such distinction for this high honor," Warner said. "With more than 30 years of legal experience and the highest esteem of his peers, Judge Agee will make an outstanding federal jurist.""