Judiciary Watch

Ninth Circuit to stream en banc hearings

As reported by the L.A. Times, the 9th Circuit announced this week that it would become the first U.S. Appeals Court to provide live video coverage of hearings on important cases.  While the court previously permitted media outlets to broadcast live coverage in some cases, the new policy allows all en banc hearings to be live streamed on the court’s website beginning December 9.  Chief Judge Alex Kozinski said, “Video streaming is a way to open the court's doors even wider so that more people can see and hear what transpires in the courtroom, particularly in regard to some of our most important cases.”

Senate changes filibuster rule

The Senate yesterday voted 52-48 to overturn a Senate rule that allowed a minority party to block presidential nominations.  The move, often referred to as the “nuclear option,” was in response to Republican’s use of the filibuster to block President Obama’s three nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  Before the rule change, a nomination needed 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.  Now, a simple majority can force an up-or-down vote.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid immediately called for a new vote on the nomination of Patricia Millett for the D.C. court, and after a 55-43 vote, Millett’s nomination is set for December 9.

Reid said the move was necessary because of the gridlock in the nomination process, saying that “there has been unbelievable, unprecedented obstruction.”  He said that half of the filibusters of executive and judicial nominations have been during the Obama administration.  The rule will not apply to Supreme Court nominations. 

Senate Republicans block Millett nomination

The Senate yesterday blocked the nomination of Patricia Millett for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  Millett needed 60 votes to clear a hurdle to bring her nomination to a vote, but received just 55 votes in her favor.  Republicans have argued that the D.C. Circuit does not need any more judges and accused President Obama of trying to shift the balance of power on the court.  The vote yesterday had some Democrats considering changes to Senate rules that would prevent the future filibuster of nominees.

Senate fight over judicial nominees nears

Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday that he wants to move forward on “a number of vital nominations” before the Thanksgiving break.  He accused Republicans of delaying or blocking "scores of President Obama's judicial and executive branch nominations" creating a backlog.  Reid filed a cloture motion on the nomination of Patricia Millett, one of President Obama’s three picks for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, setting her up for a Senate vote later this week. Republicans have argued that the circuit court’s caseload is too small to necessitate filling any of the open seats.  There are currently 91 total vacancies on the federal courts with 50 nominations pending.

Obama set to nominate three to D.C. Circuit Court

Legal Times reports that President Obama later today will name three nominees for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  According to a White House official, the nominees are Patricia Millett of Akin, Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Cornelia "Nina" Pillard, a former Justice Department lawyer and current Georgetown University Law Center professor; and Hon. Robert Wilkins, a district judge in Washington.  Wilkins was confirmed to the trial bench in 2010.  Both Millett and Pillard have extensive experience before the Supreme Court.  None of the nominees is controversial, however Republican law makers contend the D.C. Circuit does not need more judges based on its declining case load and it is expected they will oppose the nominees.

Srinivasan confirmed to D.C. Circuit by unanimous vote

The Senate unanimously confirmed Sri Srinivasan to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the first judge named to that bench since 2006.  Srinivasan, who was born in Chandigarh, India is the first appellate judge of South Asian descent.  There are still three vacancies on the D.C. Circuit.  Obama's two other nominees, Goodwin Liu and Caitlin Hannigan were blocked by Republicans.

Senate Judiciary Committee approves Srinivasan for D.C. Circuit

Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to approve Sri Srinivasan for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Srinivasan would be the first new judge in the D.C. Circuit since 2006. The nomination now heads to the full Senate for a vote. There are currently four vacancies on the D.C. Circuit. Senate Republicans have suggested they do not want to fill any of those vacancies, even proposing legislation to eliminate three of the vacant spots. Earlier in the year, Republicans rejected another of President Obama’s nominees to the Circuit Court, Caitlin Hannigan. Srinivasan is currently a deputy solicitor general at the Justice Department.

Senate confirms Beverly Reid O'Connell to Central District of California

The Senate yesterday confirmed Beverly Reid O'Connell to the district court for the Central District of California by a 92-0 vote.  O’Connell is a graduate of U.C.L.A. and received her J.D. magna cum laude from Pepperdine Univ. School of Law in 1990.  She was an associate with Morrison & Foerster in Los Angeles for five years following law school.   From 1995 to 2005 O’Connell was with the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Central District of California where she served as Deputy Chief of Major Crimes for four years and Senior Litigation Counsel of the Organized Crime Strike Force from 2003 to 2005.  From 2005 until 2013, O’Connell served as a Superior Court Judge in Los Angeles.

Kayatta, Portland lawyer, confirmed to First Circuit Court of Appeals

The Senate last week confirmed William J. Kayatta, Jr. to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by an 88 to 12 vote.  Kayatta graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and went on to clerk for Hon. Frank M. Coffin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. From 1980 until his appointment to the bench, Kayatta was with Pierce Atwood in Portland, Me focusing his practice on complex litigation.  He argued two cases before the Supreme Court, UNUM Life Insurance Co. v. Ward and S.D. Warren Co. v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection.

Judicial nominations in Obama's first term

At the end of President Obama’s first term, there were 77 vacancies on the federal bench, or almost 9 percent of total judgeships, with 33 nominations pending.  The average time it took for a candidate for appellate or trial court to go from nomination to confirmation during Obama’s first term was more than seven months, over 2 months longer than President George W. Bush’s and more than double President Clinton’s.  Total judicial vacancies increased by 51 percent in the last 4 years; there were 55 when Obama took office.

The lame duck Senate confirmed 13 district court judges in December, but Obama’s total confirmation  rate was only 75 percent, compared to 88 percent for President George W. Bush four years into his presidency and 83 percent for President Clinton.  Over 95 percent of Bush’s nominees were eventually confirmed.  Some liberal critics of the President’s nomination process agree that by one measure, he has met expectations. During his first term, Obama named to the bench a higher share of women (44 percent) and a higher share of minorities (37 percent) than any president before him.