Family News in Focus - McConnell Blasts Democrats Over Judicial Obstruction

January 28, 2008

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is taking Democrats to task for stalling judicial nominations.

Too many judicial posts have been left empty too long," he said in his opening speech of the Senates second session.

The Senate typically confirms 17 judicial nominations during the last two years a president is in office. But, since last summer, the Democrat-controlled Senate has only confirmed six circuit court judges. Eleven nominations are pending some of them have been for more than a year.

This pattern is neither fair nor acceptable," McConnell told the Senate. Clearly, we need to catch up. But we cant confirm judges if they dont get hearings.

The court system is suffering because of the delay, said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice.

Some of these spots are areas where a judicial emergencys been declared, which means justice is being delayed," he said. "And when justice is being delayed, justice is denied. The fact is, you have backlogs on these circuit courts and district courts, and not getting these nominees an up-or-down vote violates the Constitution.

Curt Levey, general counsel for the Committee for Justice, said Republicans aren't asking for much.

Weve never demanded that any judge be confirmed; weve simply said, 'Give us a fair up-or-down vote on the floor,' " he said. "The Constitution requires it; I think fairness requires it, as well. A lot of these guys are kept waiting for years with their life pretty much on hold.