The Senate today confirmed Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California this afternoon by a vote of 90 to 6.
Judge Bencivengo, who served as a United States Magistrate Judge in San Diego, was nominated to the seat on May 11, 2011. On October 6, 2011, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported her nomination to the full Senate on a unanimous voice vote.
Judge Bencivengo waited 127 days for the full Senate to consider her nomination; 275 days have passed since she was nominated to fill the seat which has been designated a judicial emergency vacancy by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The seat has been vacant for 614 days.
Today’s vote is only the second Senate confirmation vote of 2012 on judicial nominees, despite the fact that all but two of the 18 nominees awaiting final votes were forwarded out of committee with unanimous or overwhelming bipartisan support. Nine pending nominees are nominated to fill emergency vacancies.
For the most up-to-date information on judicial vacancies and nominations, see the Alliance for Justice Judicial Selection Project webpage.
