Private: Judiciary Committee Approves More Nominees, but No Movement on Senate Confirmations

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved another 11 judicial nominees today, bringing the total number of nominees awaiting a confirmation vote by the full Senate to 34.

Although 26 of these pending nominees were unanimously approved by the committee, the full Senate has not voted on a judicial nominee since Sept. 13.

"Nominees are being stalled who, if allowed to be considered, would receive unanimous or near unanimous support, be confirmed, and be serving in the administration of justice throughout the country. This is counterproductive," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said this morning.

There are now 110 vacancies out of 876 seats on the federal bench subject to Senate confirmation. Almost half of these seats have been deemed judicial emergencies by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, ACS Executive Director Caroline Fredrickson and a number of current and former federal judges, including Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, have called on the Senate to promptly confirm nominees. Editorial boards across the country have also added their voice to the call, including the The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Arizona Republic, the DesMoines Register and The Providence Journal.

View the list of nominees who were approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and those that were held over, here.

Visit JudicialNominations.org to learn more about the judicial nominations crisis and follow developments.

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