Posts Categorized: Filipe Restrepo

Last week, when asked if only district court judicial nominees—signed off on by Republican senators—would be confirmed this session, Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell responded that it was “highly likely.” Later, a spokesperson clarified that “[w]e probably will have a circuit court nominee” confirmed.

Either way, these comments represent a major retreat from the “regular order” McConnell promised upon becoming majority leader. Both Republican and Democrat-controlled senates have confirmed appellate court nominees in the final two years of an opposition presidency, usually in states with a senator from the president’s party. This Senate, by contrast, has failed to confirm a single appellate court judge.  Under Senator McConnell’s leadership, eminently qualified nominees have been slow-walked through every step of the process.

L. Felipe Restrepo, a nominee to the Third Circuit, has waited over 200 days for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee despite support from Republican Senator Pat Toomey. Judge Restrepo will finally have his hearing tomorrow afternoon. Soon after, the committee should report him to the Senate floor. How long his nomination languishes there will be yet another test of McConnell’s commitment to regular order.

In the last Congress of President George W. Bush’s second term, Senate Democrats confirmed 10 circuit nominees. They included vacancies in states represented by Republicans, Democrats, and mixed delegations. Most notably, Judge Leslie Southwick was confirmed to the Fifth Circuit despite opposition from progressive advocacy groups and three-fourths of the Democratic caucus.

President Clinton’s final two years were no different. The Republican-led Senate confirmed 15 circuit nominees, and every one of them were from Democrat-controlled or mixed delegation states.

In President Reagan’s final two years, Senate Democrats confirmed 17 circuit judges. A plurality of those judges was from Republican-controlled states.

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“Probably” confirming “a circuit court nominee” would make this Senate historic—just not in the way Senator McConnell would like. It would mark an unprecedented level of obstruction rather than the regular order the American people were promised. Our nation’s appellate courts need to be filled. It’s time for the Senate to start confirming judges.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals needs another judge.

For the past 675 days, the former seat of Senior Judge Anthony Scirica has sat vacant. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts named the seat a judicial emergency earlier this year because the circuit cannot properly manage its current caseload without another active judge.

The problem should be easy to solve. On November 12, 2014, with the support of Pennsylvania Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, President Obama nominated District Court Judge L. Felipe Restrepo to fill the spot. Yet, 176 days later, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has not even held a hearing on Judge Restrepo’s nomination.

Everyone agrees that Judge Restrepo is qualified for the position. He was confirmed as a federal district court judge just two years ago on a voice vote. The American Bar Association  rated him “well qualified.” Senator Toomey, a Republican, said the judge would “make a superb addition to the Third Circuit.”

So why the delay? In a radio interview on Tuesday, Senator Grassley said that Judge Restrepo was going through a “thorough vetting process” and that the committee is “doing what we normally do.”

But this delay is anything but normal. At 176 days, Judge Restrepo has already waited nearly three times

Judge L. Felipe Restrepo

as long for his committee hearing as the average wait for Obama’s other circuit court nominees. Kara Farnandez Stoll, who was nominated to a federal appeals court the same day as Judge Restrepo, had a confirmation hearing on March 11 and was voted out of committee on April 23. This disparity is especially telling because Judge Restrepo just went through a rigorous background investigation before he was confirmed to his district court seat in 2013. If anything, having earned the Senate’s approval less than two years ago, Judge Restrepo’s vetting process should take less time, not more.

And it’s not like Judge Restrepo has been waiting behind a long line of nominees. Stoll is the only circuit court nominee who’s had a hearing in 2015, and on March 11 Grassley convened a hearing with only two nominees on the witness list. Judge Restrepo should have had his hearing then, if not before, but Grassley passed him over.

Justice delayed is justice denied. For the people of Pennsylvania and the rest of the Third Circuit, justice has been denied for far too long. It’s time for Senator Grassley to end his political charade and to hold a hearing for Judge Restrepo. The time for a “thorough vetting process” has come and gone, and there is a judicial vacancy that desperately needs to be filled.