Peoria Journal Star: No good reason to keep delaying judicial confirmations

[usregimechange]

Last week, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee gave unanimous - and well-deserved - approval to Peoria County Circuit Judge James Shadid's nomination to an open federal judgeship in Peoria.

While that should have cleared the decks for a final vote and a photo-friendly swearing in, even non-controversial nominations like those of Shadid and state appellate court Judge Sue Myerscough aren't guaranteed swift passage on the floor of the U.S. Senate. In fact, they are often held up simply for partisan political purposes. The considerable backlog in other judicial confirmations that have been held up - some of which are awaiting discussion first - most likely means the pair won't hit the bench this year and will have to be renominated in January.

Unfortunately, this does nothing for the cause of justice. Indeed, the courthouse wheels turn much more slowly because of this infatuation with delaying confirmation votes to score a couple of easy political points.

Take the Central District of Illinois - of which the Peoria area is a part - as a case in point. Of the four full-time seats on the bench here, three are vacant today. The judges who used to hold them are now in semi-retirement, which typically means dealing with a drastically reduced caseload. So if you've got business locally with the feds, keep your calendar clear for a while. That there are so many open slots in a relatively small district has led the Administrative Office of the Courts to add those three seats to its list of 50 "emergency" vacancies, highlighting spots where swift justice is being hampered.

http://www.pjstar.com/opinions/ourview/x652139361/Our-View-No-good-reason-to-keep-delaying-judicial-confirmations

[madrchsod]

1. that`s a republican stronghold here in illinois.

this is the sectary of transportation lahood district.

that`s a very interesting article...maybe the paper should send a copy to the republicans who are blocking this process.