[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 92 (Tuesday, June 5, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS VACANCY REDUCTION ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 5, 2018

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia 
Courts Vacancy Reduction Act. This bill would allow local District of 
Columbia court nominees to be seated after a 30-day congressional 
review period unless a resolution of disapproval is enacted during that 
period. Currently, nominees cannot be seated without affirmative Senate 
approval. The congressional review process for nominees would be the 
same one used for legislation passed by the D.C. Council. It is 
therefore a reliable process, long-recognized by Congress. My bill is 
prompted by the unique requirement that judges for the local D.C. 
courts be confirmed by the Senate, where nominees for the federal 
courts, understandably, get the primary focus and priority. There is 
currently an urgency facing the District's criminal and civil justice 
systems, and the D.C. courts have raised serious concerns due to 
longstanding vacancies.
  Whether under Democratic or Republican control of the Senate, the 
local D.C. courts regularly face vacancy crises, which harm the 
operations of the judicial system in the District. Congress created the 
D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission (JNC) to recommend candidates, and 
Congress should generally defer to its judgment. This bill is a 
compromise, useful to all concerned, that retains a congressional role 
while saving the Senate time by removing the need for committee and 
floor action and increasing the odds that D.C. will have a full 
complement of local judges.
  Currently, there are 10 vacancies out of 62 authorized judges on the 
D.C. Superior Court and two vacancies out of nine authorized judges on 
the D.C. Court of Appeals. In the current Congress, only one judge has 
been confirmed.
  Both pre- and post-home rule, the District has never had control over 
the nomination and approval process of local D.C. judges. My bill would 
not alter the role of the JNC or the President in the nomination 
process. Under the Home Rule Act, the JNC recommends to the President a 
list of three persons for each vacancy on the Superior Court and Court 
of Appeals. The President must nominate a candidate recommended by the 
JNC within 60 days to the Senate for advice and consent. If the 
President fails to nominate such a person within 60 days, the JNC must 
nominate a recommended person directly to the Senate for advice and 
consent. The Senate has no obligation to provide its advice and 
consent. Under this bill, once a name has been transmitted to Congress, 
the nomination would be deemed approved unless a resolution of 
disapproval is enacted into law during a 30-legislative-day review 
period.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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