Game Over Judgeships Goes On

It is certainly welcome news that the Senate last week finally confirmed six new federal judges. For years now, the operation of the federal bench has been hobbled by dozens of empty chairs. Backlogs have grown in some districts, frustration in nearly all, over the Senate’s toying with qualified presidential nominees. At one point, more than 100 of the 825 federal judgeships were vacant.

The six new confirmations are all of women or minorities, including two women for California’s Central District Court. This brings the number of vacancies down to 60. But, shamefully, still in limbo are two nominations to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, those of U.S. District Judge Richard Paez and San Francisco lawyer Marsha Berzon. Both nominees are highly qualified and would be an asset to the appellate bench. Both, however, have been subjected to the Republican-led Senate’s peculiar form of humiliation.

Paez was first nominated to the appeals court by President Clinton a record four years ago, Berzon nearly two years ago. Since then, virtually every word they have written or spoken has been combed for evidence that they might be “activists” if confirmed. Even after the string ran out on that gambit, there was more delay, months and years of it.

Now Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) says he’ll call a floor vote on Paez and Berzon no later than March 15. Reportedly, Lott’s willingness to move came in return for Democrats’ agreement to drop objections to some nonjudicial nominations favored by Republicans. But presidential politics may be just as good an explanation. The Senate’s party-line rejection last month of the nomination of Ronnie White, an African American justice on the Missouri Supreme Court, to a federal judgeship provoked charges that the Republicans are insensitive to minorities, allegations that could work against the GOP candidate in 2000.

Why wait until perhaps March to vote on Paez and Berzon? Both have been thoroughly questioned--grilled is more accurate--by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Both have broad support. Berzon even has the backing of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah). Lott should stop playing games and call the vote now.