    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [October 30, 2002]
    [Pages 1929-1932]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Judicial Confirmation Process
    October 30, 2002

        Thank you all very much. Thank you, Al. He's--everybody must have a good lawyer, and I got one in
    Al Gonzales.
        I want to welcome you all here to the White House. Thank you for
    coming.
        The Federal courts play a central role in American justice,
    protecting the innocent, punishing the guilty, resolving disputes, and
    upholding the rule of law. Yet, today, our Federal courts are in crisis.
    The judicial confirmation process does not work as it should. Nominees
    are too often mistreated; votes are delayed; hearings are denied. And
    dozens of Federal judgeships sit empty, and this endangers the quality
    of justice in America.
        Everyone knows these facts. Everyone knows the system isn't working.
    These concerns are not new, and we will not find a solution in an
    endless cycle of blame and bitterness.
        Today I'm proposing a clean start for the process of nominating and
    confirming Federal judges. We must have an evenhanded, predictable
    procedure from the day a vacancy is announced to the day a

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    new judge is sworn in. This procedure should apply now and in the
    future, no matter who lives in this house or who controls the Senate. We
    must return fairness and dignity to the judicial confirmation process.
        I want to thank the Judge, Al Gonzales, for working on this initiative, and I want to thank his
    team for working hard. I appreciate John Ashcroft's service to our country. He is a great Attorney General,
    and I'm not saying that just because his wife
    and her twin sister are here. [Laughter]
        I'm so pleased that Ted Olson, the
    Solicitor General, is with us. I thank Fred Fielding, the former counsel to President Ronald Reagan. Boyd
    Gray is with us, former Counsel to Number 41.
    Dennis Archer is with us today, president-
    elect of the American Bar Association and, of course, the former mayor
    of Detroit. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. Thomas Hayward, chair of the Committee of Federal Judicial
    Improvements for the American Bar Association, and all of you, thank you
    for your interest in this subject.
        Nearly 18 months ago, at an event right here in the East Room, I
    introduced my first 11 nominees to the court of appeals. I urged
    Senators of both parties to provide a fair hearing and a prompt vote to
    each nominee. Thus far, only 3 of these 11 nominations have been brought
    to a vote in the United States Senate.
        The eight who are stalled in the Judiciary Committee include people
    such as John Roberts. John Roberts has argued
    38 cases before the Supreme Court. He has served as Deputy Solicitor
    General of the United States. He's widely regarded as one of the best
    Supreme Court lawyers in America.
        And they include Miguel Estrada, who has
    argued 15 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and has served in the
    Justice Department, under Presidents of both political parties, as a
    Federal prosecutor and as the Assistant to the Solicitor General.
        The Judiciary Committee has prevented full Senate action on people
    such as Priscilla Owen, who has served
    brilliantly on the Texas Supreme Court since 1995 and was overwhelmingly
    reelected by the people of Texas in the year 2000.
        Mr. Roberts, Mr. Estrada and Justice Owen have the
    highest ratings from the American Bar Association, which some Democrat
    Senators have called ``the gold standard.'' They have broad support
    among lawyers in both political parties. Both Mr. Roberts and Mr.
    Estrada have the support of former President Clinton's Solicitor
    General. Justice Owen is supported by three
    former Democrat justices of the Texas Supreme Court.
        In all, I have sent to the Senate 32 nominees for the court of
    appeals. They are well-qualified men and women with experience,
    intelligence, character, and bipartisan home-State support. They
    represent the mainstream of American law and American values. Yet the
    Senate has confirmed only 14 of these 32 nominees, which is far below
    the pace of past Senates at the start of an administration. It's a lousy
    record. Not one of my nine pending nominees to fill vacancies on the
    Sixth and DC Circuit Courts has received a Senate vote--not one. As of
    November, 15 of my appeals court nominees will have been forced to wait
    over a year for a hearing. That's more in this Presidency than under the
    previous nine Presidents combined.
        There's no good reason why any nominee should endure a year, a year
    and a half, or more without the courtesy of an up-or-down floor vote.
    There is not one good reason why. Whatever the explanation, we clearly
    have a poisoned and polarized atmosphere in which well-qualified
    nominees are neither voted up or down; they are just left in limbo. This
    is unfair to the nominees and their families. This process discourages
    good people from serving as judges. It's also unfair to the courts
    themselves, which are forced to handle a growing caseload without the
    judges they need.

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        Nine percent of all Federal judgeships in America are now vacant--9
    percent. Of the 12 regional courts of appeals, the courts right below
    the Supreme Court, there is a 17-percent vacancy rate. The Court of
    Appeals for the DC court, which rules on many significant Constitutional
    and regulatory issues, now operates with one-third of its judgeships
    empty. And the Sixth Court of Appeals, which covers Kentucky and Ohio,
    Michigan and Tennessee, is nearly half empty, with 9 active judges doing
    the work of 16.
        Meanwhile, the number of Federal appeal court filings reached an
    all-time high this year. Benches are empty; the number of court filings
    has increased to an all-time high. We can expect them to increase even
    further as a result of the war on terror, corporate fraud prosecutions,
    and issues arising out of the September the 11th attacks.
        If the judicial vacancies go unfulfilled, we will see more crowded
    dockets and longer delays. The Federal courts will be unable to act in a
    timely manner to protect constitutional rights, to resolve civil
    disputes, and enforce the criminal laws, the environmental laws, and the
    civil rights laws that affects the lives and liberties of every single
    American. Chief Justice Rehnquist has called this situation alarming.
    The American Bar Association's report has described the current status
    of the Federal judiciary as an emergency situation.
        The judicial crisis is the result of a broken system, and we have a
    duty to repair it. I want to work with the Senate to fashion a new
    approach to filling Federal court vacancies. We should leave behind the
    arguments and grievances of the past. We need to fix this problem
    together. That's why we've come to Washington, to fix problems, and each
    branch of Government can contribute, and must contribute, to a better
    system.
        So today I'm offering four specific proposals to break the logjam in
    Washington and bring the Federal courts of appeals and district courts
    to full strength.
        First, I call on Federal judges on the courts of appeals and
    district courts to notify the President of their intention to retire at
    least a year in advance, whenever this is possible. Because the
    nomination and confirmation of a Federal judge is a lengthy process
    under the best of circumstances, judges who retire without advance
    notice can unintentionally create a judicial vacancy that can last for
    many months. The request for one year advance notice builds on existing
    policy of the judiciary and will help us work toward a system in which a
    new Federal judge is ready to take the bench on a day the sitting judge
    retires. That's the goal.
        Second, I propose that Presidents submit a nomination to the Senate
    within 180 days of receiving notice of a Federal court vacancy or
    intended retirement. In other words, we have a responsibility as well to
    make sure the judiciary is sound and whole. This will speed up the
    sometimes time-consuming process of obtaining recommendations and
    evaluations from home-State Senators and Representatives and Governors
    and bar leaders, while leaving ample time for Presidents to vet and
    choose nominees of the highest quality.
        Third, I call on the Senate Judiciary--Senate Judiciary Committee to
    commit to holding a hearing within 90 days of receiving a nomination. A
    strict deadline is the best way to ensure that judicial nominees are
    promptly and fairly considered, and 90 days is more than enough time for
    the committee to conduct necessary research before holding a hearing.
    That's plenty of time.
        Finally, I call on the full Senate to commit to an up-or-down floor
    vote on each nominee no later than 180 days after the nomination is
    submitted. This is a very generous period of time that will allow all
    the Senators to evaluate nominees and have their votes counted.

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         Our proposals would not favor Democrats or Republicans. The plan
    would be fair and would apply to--regardless of who the President is. It
    doesn't matter who the President is. What matters is a system which
    works.
        For the first time in years, the judicial confirmation process would
    work as it was intended to work. All Senators would have a chance to
    make their voices heard and their views known, and that's important. All
    nominees would have the certainty of an up-or-down Senate floor vote
    within a reasonable period of time, and that is important. All
    Presidents would know that their judicial nominations would be addressed
    promptly. All Americans would see a more dignified process and have
    their Federal courts fully staffed to protect their rights and their
    liberties. And the vacancy crisis would be resolved once and for all.
        I urge every Member of the Senate, in particular those serving on
    the Judiciary Committee, to carefully consider this new beginning for
    the judicial nomination process, to weigh their responsibilities, to
    look at the vacancy problem we have, to act in a responsible fashion.
        The failure of the judicial confirmation process is harming the
    administration of justice in America. That is a fact. The current state
    of affairs is not merely another round of political wrangling. It is a
    disturbing failure to meet our responsibilities under the Constitution.
    The Constitution has given us a shared duty, and we must meet that duty
    together.
        Thank you all for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:40 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Attorney General Ashcroft's wife,
    Janet Ashcroft, and sister-in-law, Anne Giddings; and former Solicitor
    General Seth P. Waxman.