Bush Says Delays on Judge Choices Creating ‘Crisis’

The federal courts face a “vacancy crisis” because Senate Democrats are not acting quickly enough on nominees, President Bush said Friday.

The Democrats responded that, under their leadership, the Senate was moving faster than it had when Republicans were in the majority and President Clinton sent them judicial nominees.

The White House and the Senate Democrats each offered statistics to support their arguments. But beyond the numbers, the dispute drew attention not only to the 88 vacancies in the federal district and appellate courts but also to the Senate’s practice of using nominations as bargaining chips. Its pace for considering nominations can be hastened or slowed in exchange for action on a broad sweep of legislation.

Friday was Law Day, marking the role of the legal profession in the U.S., and Bush used it to draw attention to the dispute. He noted that of the 100 judicial nominations he has sent to the Senate, only 52 have been confirmed.

“The Senate thus far has not done its part to ensure that our federal courts operate at full strength,” Bush said in a speech at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. “Justice is at risk in America, and the Senate must act for the good of the country.

“The Senate can do much more and must do much more to address the current vacancy crisis. By its inaction, the Senate is endangering the administration of justice in America.”

Senate Democrats responded that of Bush’s 100 nominations, 15 have not received the consent of home-state senators, a crucial initial step, 12 have not been reviewed by the American Bar Assn. and 19 have been scheduled for hearings.

“President Bush needs to get the facts straight. The fact is, judicial vacancies dramatically increased under Republican control of the Senate,” Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said in a statement. “In less than a year, Democrats have significantly reduced those vacancies.”

In his speech to law professors, law enforcement representatives and state bar association leaders, Bush said more than 10% of federal judgeships are vacant. There are approximately 850 positions in the federal judiciary, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, where some of the most important constitutional cases are brought, four of the 12 seats are empty. In the 6th Circuit Court, covering Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, half of the 16 positions are vacant.

The Senate Judiciary Committee argues that it has worked faster than Republicans did when they controlled the panel during Clinton’s presidency. The committee compared its confirmation of 52 of Bush’s 100 nominees during the last 10 months with the 17 nominees confirmed in 1996 and the 36 on which the panel acted in 1997.

Indeed, the 52 already confirmed by the Senate reflect a more productive pace than during the period 20 years ago when Republicans held a majority in the Senate and Ronald Reagan was president. In the first 10 months of 1981, 42 of his nominees were confirmed.

In addition, they argue, the confirmation process for circuit court nominees is accelerating: The time between receipt of the ABA’s report on a nominee and the full Senate’s vote on the selection has been averaging 109 days during the current Congress, compared with 374 days during the previous Congress.

Blaming whatever delays there have been on Bush, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said: “Controversial nominations take longer, and the president can help by choosing nominees primarily for their ability instead of for their ideology.”

So far, the Judiciary Committee has rejected one of Bush’s nominees: U.S. District Judge Charles W. Pickering, whom the president picked for the appeals court. Democrats called him too conservative, and his nomination was derailed on a straight party-line vote.

Citing the need for an independent judiciary, Leahy said, “The Senate should not and will not rubber stamp nominees who would undermine its independence and fairness.”

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Times staff writer Edwin Chen contributed to this report.