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TO A FRIEND
COMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE
1920 L Street, N.W., Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 18, 2007
CONTACT: Curt Levey, (202) 270-7748,Mukasey Nomination Should Speed Confirmation of Judges
Dems Must Follow Own Advice and Put Politics Aside
Michael Mukasey WASHINGTON, DC - The Committee for Justice (CFJ) commented today regarding the impact of Michael Mukasey's nomination on the ongoing battle over the President's judicial nominations.
"For several reasons, the nomination of Michael Mukasey to be attorney general is great news for those of us who care about confirming good judges," said CFJ executive director Curt Levey. "I was concerned that Senate Democrats would use a prolonged battle over the confirmation of a new attorney general as an excuse for continuing to slow walk the President's judicial nominees. But by choosing Mukasey, who is so highly regarded on both sides of the aisle, the President has taken away any justification for prolonging the attorney general's confirmation beyond the historical average of 3 weeks. Accordingly, Democrats will not be able to claim that they are too busy to provide timely hearings and up-or-down floor votes for the President's judicial nominees."
"Moreover, once Mukasey is confirmed, he will be an extremely effective advocate for the Administration's judicial nominees," explained Levey. "Even the Democrats concede that Mukasey is non-partisan and was one of the nation's best judges during his 18 years on the federal bench. When Michael Mukasey says that a particular nominee would make an outstanding judge, it will be difficult for Senate Democrats to argue with his assessment. No one knows better than Michael Mukasey what it takes to be a great judge."
"Finally, the Democrats own words following the resignation of Alberto Gonzales will make them look like hypocrites if they continue to obstruct the President's judicial nominees," Levey noted. "Sen. Chuck Schumer and his Democratic colleagues have repeatedly emphasized the importance of putting the rule of law above political considerations in the selection of a new attorney general. President Bush did just that with the nomination of Michael Mukasey. Now it's time for Senate Democrats to follow their own advice and put political considerations aside in the confirmation of judges. That means providing judicial nominees with hearings and up-or-down floor votes in a timely manner - in other words, no more obstruction. If you look at the Constitution, it's the federal judiciary, not the attorney general, that is supposed to be above politics."
"In sum, the nomination of Michael Mukasey makes it more difficult for Senate Democrats to continue their obstruction-as-usual approach to judicial nominees," Levey explained. "Sen. Schumer greeted Mukasey's nomination by saying the White House has shown a new attitude.' I think Senate Democrats realize they're going to have to show a new attitude when it comes to judicial nominations."
Levey added that "there's no better time than now for a new attitude on judges, because the Democrats' slowdown has resulted in a backlog of nominees and a sharp falloff in confirmations from the historical average. Twenty district court nominees are awaiting confirmation by the Senate. Eleven appeals court nominees await confirmation, six of them to seats declared judicial emergencies.' Three of those 11 nominees - Peter Keisler, Stephen Murphy, and Raymond Kethledge - have been waiting well beyond a year. Sens. Reid and Leahy promised Republicans they would meet the historical average by confirming appeals court judges at a one-per-month pace. So far, they haven't even come close."
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