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By AndrewHyman Posted in Analysis and Predictions — Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Here's some more about that Roll Call article mentioned in my previous post. The author is Erin P. Billings. She reports this about Judge Boyle:

Boyle, who also has been nominated to the 4th Circuit, arguably is the most inflammatory appointment of the four because of the frequency of his previous rulings being reversed and allegations of conflict of interest.

Regarding the allegations of conflict of interest, perhaps Roll Call could supply some context, instead of just republicizing these trivial accusations.

On the subject of Judge Boyle's reversal rate, liberal George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley has said that Boyle "earned a high number of reversals for 'plain error' but the situation isn't extreme enough to justify a filibuster as opposed to a 'no' vote." Furthermore, Boyle's overall reversal rate is 7.5 percent, which is below the national average of 9.7 percent, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts. It would be nice if Roll Call might someday report the facts about Boyle's reversal rate, instead of wrongly asserting that his reversals have been frequent to the point of being inflammatory.

The Roll Call article also reports that Senator Lindsey Graham believes there are no extraordinary circumstances that might justify a filibuster of Boyle, Haynes, Smith, or Myers. "I think all of them deserve an up-or-down vote," Graham says. Rumor has it that the rest of the GOP members of the Gang feel the same way, at least about Boyle.

Despite the gloomy first two sentences of the Roll Call article, which say there's little hope for votes on these four nominees before election day, the article later reports this:

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) said there is "a chance some agreement could be met" within the chamber that would break the deadlock and allow for votes on the nominees. A spokeswoman for Frist said her boss still holds out hope that he can move one of the nominees before November. "It's possible," said Amy Call. "Sen. Frist is trying to make sure we dot all the i's and cross all the t's. We're trying to make sure people get all the information they need about the remaining nominees". Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a member of the "Gang of 14," which has taken a pivotal, middle-of-the-road stance on judicial nominations said not all judicial nominees awaiting a Senate vote are controversial. The chamber, he said, easily could take some of those up in the nearer term.

Just a reminder: Senator Frist --- or any other senator --- can call for a vote on Myers or Boyle or Smith at any time, because they've already been reported out of committee. This is what the Congressional Research Service says:

Since 1980, the Senate precedent has been established that when the Senate is in legislative session, a non-debatable motion may be made to go into executive session to take up a specified nomination . . . .

Roll Call might report that too.

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