Illinois Senator Durbin's Response Re: Judicial Appointee Nominations
Dear Mr. Tisza:I am disappointed that a number of President Obama?s highly-qualified judicial nominees have not been considered by the full Senate, despite many of them receiving unanimous approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I review the merits of each nominee carefully. During this process, I evaluate the nominee?s past record, professional competence, integrity, temperament, and judicial philosophy; his or her commitment to upholding the rights and protections established by the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and subsequent laws; and the background information and testimony collected in the course of the candidate?s confirmation hearings. Understandably, this is a long and rigorous process for many judicial nominees that are placed under this high level of scrutiny. Nevertheless, many qualified nominees are not considered by the full Senate.
Blocking the confirmations of uncontroversial judicial appointments is unfair to the process. It
