Senate Maneuvering Puts Manion Judgeship on Hold : Decisive Vote Seen in Mid-July

The Senate voted in favor of Daniel Manion, a controversial conservative from Indiana, as a federal appeals court judge today but opponents immediately demanded a second, decisive vote that may not come until mid-July.

The Senate voted 48 to 46 to approve Manion, but Senate Democratic leader Robert C. Byrd, who joined the majority in a parliamentary maneuver, dramatically called for reconsideration seconds after Vice President George Bush announced the results.

Republican leader Bob Dole asked for time to consider the maneuvering and said another vote might not come until after the two-week Fourth of July recess that begins this weekend.

Two Votes Needed

Although tentatively approved, Manion will not be confirmed until the vote is taken on Byrd’s motion for reconsideration. If that motion is approved, a second vote on Manion will be necessary.

Opponents of the nomination have said Manion does not have the background or ability for an appointment one rung below the Supreme Court and that he holds extreme right-wing beliefs that would interfere with his judicial duties.

President Reagan made the nomination of Manion to the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago a test of his power to put conservatives on the bench.

Reagan has accused opponents of blocking Manion for political reasons--his father, Clarence, was a founder of the John Birch Society. As a state senator, Manion sponsored a bill to allow posting of the Ten Commandments in classrooms and legislation to allow teaching of creationism.

Two Votes Given Away

The Senate had planned to vote today on whether to kill a filibuster on Manion but Byrd offered to make it a yes-or-no vote. Dole accepted after Democrats agreed to give away two of their votes by “pairing” them with absent Republicans.

The final seconds of the vote were marked by unusual maneuvering in a crowded Senate.

With the vote 48 to 47 against Manion, Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-Kan.) withdrew her “no” vote after Sen. Dan Quayle (R-Ind.), Manion’s chief Senate supporter, pleaded for her help.

With the vote then at 47-47, Bush--who arrived in the Capitol after the roll call was under way--could have cast a tie-breaking vote. But Byrd switched his vote from “no” to “yes” to produce the 48-46 tally.

Nomination ‘Embarrassing’

As a member of the majority, he was allowed to move for reconsideration.

Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) and Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.) said Wednesday the Administration should be embarrassed for submitting a poor nomination.

“It is a signal for (Atty. Gen. Edwin) Meese that you can’t send up just anybody,” Simon said.

Manion, 44, of South Bend, Ind., is the first Reagan nominee to the federal bench to face a vote without the endorsement of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The panel deadlocked and sent his nomination to the Senate without a recommendation.

Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton (D-Mo.) read portions of letters from six noted lawyers, including Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox and former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who said Manion’s written arguments are mediocre at best.

Manion ‘Flunks’

“I’d give three (of the briefs) an ‘F,’ ” Eagleton said, adding that Manion “flunks the test in every measure” for excellence in a nominee.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) charged that Manion’s opponents were seizing on “picayune” items to block the appointment.

One of those items was a charge that Manion had improperly altered the transcript of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Story on Page 19.)