[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 17, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8664-S8665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, last week, the Senate confirmed the 74th, 
75th, 76th, and 77th judicial nominations from President George W. 
Bush. We have confirmed more of President Bush's nominees in less than 
15 months than were confirmed in the last 30 months that a Republican 
majority controlled the Senate and the pace of judicial confirmations. 
We have done more in half the time. We have also already confirmed more 
of President George W. Bush's judicial nominations since July 2001, 
than were confirmed in the first two full years of the term of his 
father President George H.W. Bush.
  We are recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month and this week I understand 
that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has a number of meetings and 
events planned. It seems a good time to take stock of where we are with 
regard to judicial nominees who are Hispanic.
  I am informed that out of all of President George W. Bush's judicial 
nominations less than 10 are Hispanic or Latino; indeed, the percentage 
of nominees who are Hispanic is approximately 6 percent, which is, or 
course, less than half of the percentage of Hispanics in the population 
of the United States. Earlier this year the Puerto Rican Legal Defense 
and Education Fund issued a report ``Opening the Courthouse Doors: The 
Need for More Hispanic-American Judges.'' The report urged the 
President to take action to address the persistent problem of Hispanic 
under-representation in Federal judgeships by nominating ``qualified 
Hispanic candidates who have also had a demonstrated interest and a 
meaningful involvement in the work and activities of the Hispanic 
community.'' I regret that the President has not heeded this 
recommendation.
  President Clinton nominated more than 30 Hispanic candidates for 
judicial vacancies. Unfortunately, some of them were denied hearings 
and votes during the years in which a Republican majority controlled 
the Senate process. Qualified, mainstream Hispanic nominees such as 
Christine Arguello of Colorado, Enrique Moreno of Texas, and Jorge 
Rangel also of Texas, who were nominated to circuit courts and Anabelle 
Rodriquez of Puerto Rico and Ricardo Morado of Texas, who were 
nominated to district courts, were defeated without a hearing or a 
vote. Others, such as Judges Rosemary Barkett of Florida, Sonia 
Sotomayor of New York, Carlos Lucero of Colorado, Jose Cabranes of 
Connecticut, Kim Wardlaw of California, Fortunado Benavides of Texas, 
and Richard Paez of California who were nominated to the circuit courts 
were eventually confirmed, many after lengthy delays by Republicans and 
Republicans' efforts to vote down their nominations.
  For example, three of President Clinton's first 14 judicial nominees 
were Hispanic. One of them, Judge Barkett of Florida, who was nominated 
to the Eleventh Circuit, was targeted by Republicans for defeat based 
on their claims about her judicial philosophy or ideology. Despite 
numerous procedural efforts by Republicans, then in the minority, to 
delay and defeat her nomination, Judge Barkett was eventually 
confirmed. Although she had received a unanimous ``Well Qualified'' 
rating from the ABA, 36 Republicans voted against her confirmation.
  Once Republicans took over the Senate in 1995, they slowed down the 
confirmation process dramatically, especially for circuit court 
nominees. They delayed the confirmation of Judge Sotomayor to the 
Second Circuit and tried to defeat her nomination because the 
Republican leadership feared she could be elevated to the Supreme 
Court. Even though Judge Sotomayor, like Judge Barkett, received a 
unanimous ``Well Qualified'' rating from the ABA, 29 Republicans voted 
against her confirmation on grounds of judicial philosophy or ideology. 
Republicans also delayed the confirmation of Judge Richard Paez for 
over 1,500 days, and after numerous procedural efforts to defeat his 
nomination through delay, Republicans mustered 39 votes against his 
confirmation.
  Others Hispanic nominees, like Judge Fuentes who was nominated to the 
Third Circuit, had to wait a year to be confirmed. This was not because 
Republicans were busy confirming other circuit court nominees. In the 
15 months after he was nominated, Republicans allowed only seven 
circuit court nominees to be confirmed. In contrast, the Democratic-led 
Senate has confirmed 13 of this President's circuit court nominees in 
less than 15 months, and two others are awaiting a vote on the floor.
  President Clinton also appointed Judge Ricardo Urbino to the District 
Court in D.C., Judges Daniel Dominguez, Salvador Casellas, and Jay 
Garcia Gregory to the District Court in Puerto Rico, Judge Victor 
Marrero to the District Court in the Southern District of New York, 
Judges David Briones, Orlando Garcia, and Hilda Tagle to the District 
Courts in Texas, Judges Mary Murguia and Frank Zapata to the District 
Courts in Arizona, Judge Carlos Murguia to the District Court in 
Kansas, and Judge Adalberto Jordan to the District Court in Miami. 
Republicans delayed on a number of Hispanic nominees to the District 
Courts, including Judge Tagle who waited more than 30 months to be 
confirmed while Ms. Rodriguez waited more than 30 months to never be 
confirmed during the period of Republican control of the Senate.
  In contrast, rather than reflecting the growing Hispanic population 
and increasing numbers of qualified Hispanic lawyers who are 
potentially judicial nominees, the Bush Administration's nominations 
have resulted in very few Hispanic judicial nominees compared to the 
Clinton Administration. President Bush has chosen only 8 Hispanics out 
of the 128 judicial nominations he has made. That is most regrettable.
  Since the change in majority, we have moved quickly on the few 
Hispanic nominees who have been forwarded by this White House. Judge 
Christina Armijo was confirmed in May, 2001. Judge Phillip Martinez was 
confirmed last September. Judge Randy Crane was confirmed in March. 
Judge Jose Martinez was confirmed last week. Magistrate Judge Alia 
Ludlum, who was nominated in July and whose ABA peer review was 
recently received, is participating in a confirmation hearing this 
week. Unfortunately, because the White House nominated Judge James 
Otero and Jose Linares in July and August and has changed the 50-year 
tradition regarding ABA peer reviews, the ABA peer reviews on these 
recent nominees have not been received or they, too, would have had 
hearings. Each of the other Hispanic nominees to federal trial courts 
participated in a confirmation hearing within 60 days of having a 
completed file. In addition, I am planning another confirmation hearing 
to include Miguel Estrada.
  Thus, Democrats will have held hearings on every Hispanic judicial 
nominee submitted by the President who has a completed file. The 
Democratic majority has proceeded to vote to confirm every Hispanic 
district court nominee who has had a hearing. Moreover, we have 
proceeded without the years of delay that used to accompany 
consideration of minority judicial nominees.

  In ``Justice Held Hostage,'' the bipartisan Task Force of Federal 
Judicial Selection of the Citizens for Independent Courts, co-chaired 
by Mickey

[[Page S8665]]

Edwards and Lloyd Cutler, reported that during the period of Republican 
control of the Senate judicial nominees who were ethnic minorities or 
women took longer to get considered by the Senate, were less likely to 
be voted on and less likely to be confirmed--if they were considered at 
all by the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee.
  I recall all too well the months and years it took for the 
Republican-controlled Senate to confirm Hispanic judicial nominees like 
Judge Sotomayor, Judge Paez, and Judge Tagle, in addition to other 
women or minorities like Judge Margaret Morrow, Judge Marsha Berzon, 
Judge Ann Aiken, Judge Margaret McKeown, and Judge Susan Oki Mollway. I 
also recall the numerous women and people of color who were nominated 
to the federal bench by President Clinton but who were never given 
hearings by the Republicans, like Judge Roger Gregory, Judge Helene 
White, Jorge Rangel, Enrique Moreno, and Kathleen McCree Lewis. Judge 
White of the Michigan Court of Appeals waited over 1,500 days but was 
never given a hearing or a vote. Still others, like Bonnie Campbell, 
were given a hearing but never given a vote on their nominations. These 
are just a few of the women and minorities whose confirmations were 
delayed or defeated through delay.
  President Clinton worked hard to increase the diversity of the 
federal bench and 12 percent of his appointments to the circuit courts 
were Latino. It would have been closer to 16 percent if all of his 
Hispanic nominees to the circuit courts had been accorded hearings and 
votes. By contrast, President Bush has nominated only one Hispanic to 
the dozens of circuit court vacancies that have existed during his 
term. Thus, as of today, 3 percent of this President's circuit court 
nominees are Hispanic. Between the circuit vacancies that were blocked 
by Republicans and the new ones that have arisen during the past 15 
months, President Bush has had the opportunity to choose nominees for 
41 vacancies on the circuit courts--13 of these have already been 
confirmed. This President has chosen only one Hispanic to fill any of 
these 41 vacancies, and none to any of the following vacancies: the 
four vacancies in the Tenth Circuit, which includes Colorado and New 
Mexico, among other States; the three vacancies on the Fifth Circuit, 
which includes Texas; the six vacancies on the Ninth Circuit, which 
includes California and Arizona, among other States; none to the three 
vacancies in the Second Circuit, which includes New York; and none to 
the three vacancies on the Third Circuit, which includes New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania.
  If this White House had looked a little harder and were not so 
focused on packing the circuit court bench with a narrow ideology, it 
could have found many qualified nominees, like Enrique Moreno, Jorge 
Rangel, Christina Arguello and others to fill these vacancies. Instead, 
President Bush did not choose to re-nominate these individuals who had 
been unfairly blocked by members of his party, and he also withdrew the 
nomination of Enrique Moreno to the Fifth Circuit, a nomination that 
the ABA had rated ``Well Qualified.''
  So when Republicans try to take credit for President Clinton's 
Hispanic nominees and try to blame Democrats for the lack of Hispanic 
nominees by President Bush, they should be confronted with the facts 
and asked why they opposed so many of President Clinton's qualified 
Hispanic nominees and why so many of them voted against Judge Paez and 
Judge Sotomayor and Judge Barkett, and why so many Hispanic nominees 
were delayed for years and why so many were never given hearings or 
votes. Of course the facts have not prevented unfounded accusations by 
critics of the Democratic majority. The Republican press conference 
accusing Senate Democrats of being anti-Hispanic was an example of such 
inflammatory and baseless accusations.
  As the Congressional Hispanic Caucus meets this week with Hispanic 
leaders from across the country, I welcome their views on the few 
Hispanic judicial nominees sent to the Senate by the President and 
their help in encouraging this White House to work more closely with 
Senators from both political parties to nominate qualified, mainstream 
Hispanic nominees to the federal bench.
  Our diversity is one of the great strengths of our Nation, and that 
diversity of background should be reflected in our federal courts. Race 
or ethnicity and gender are, of course, not substitutes for the wisdom, 
experience, fairness and impartiality that qualify someone to be a 
federal judge entrusted with lifetime appointments to the federal 
bench. White men should get no presumption of competence or 
entitlement. Hispanic and African American men and women should not be 
presumed to be incompetent. All nominees should be treated fairly, but 
no one is entitled to a lifetime appointment to preside over the claims 
of American citizens and immigrants in our federal courts. We must, of 
course, carefully examine the records of all nominees to such high 
offices, but we know well the benefits of diversity and how it 
contributes to achieving and improving justice in America.

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