Paralysis Lingers On

The Senate Judiciary Committee has surprised many of its critics by indicating that it will continue to conduct confirmation hearings on nominees to the federal bench into September, rather than halting them in July. This welcome move means that there is still a chance to fill some longstanding vacancies in the judiciary before the Democrats, keenly aware that one of their own may be elected to the White House in November, dig in their heels and refuse to act on nominations sent to them by a lame-duck President.

Yet the Judiciary Committee hasn’t been able to completely shake the usual election-year paralysis, despite the pledge of its chairman, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (R-Del.), that every nominee would get an up-or-down vote. The committee has yet to vote on the 16-month-old nomination of University of San Diego law professor Bernard H. Siegan, whose odd philosophy and lack of courtroom experience make him unsuited for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. There has been a similar deadlock over Vaughn R. Walker, a San Francisco attorney whose nomination to the U.S. District Court has been attacked by gay-rights advocates because he handled a trademark-infringement case that barred them from using the name Gay Olympics to describe their athletic competitions.

With time running out, we would hope that the committee would schedule hearings on the nomination of U.S. District Judge Pamela A. Rymer of Los Angeles to a seat on the 9th Circuit; she is superbly qualified and has drawn no significant opposition. Confirming Rymer would also clear the way for action on her designated successor, U.S. Attorney Robert C. Bonner, whose diligence during his four-year stint as the chief federal prosecutor for Southern California demonstrates his suitability for the bench.