Wimes Confirmed to the District Court

Monday, by a 92-1 vote, the Senate confirmed Judge Brian Wimes to the United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri. 

Wimes, a state circuit court judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit Court of Jackson, Missouri, is a graduate of the University of Kansas and of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.  His background includes service as Drug Court Commissioner for the 16th Judicial Circuit, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, and Attorney Advisor in the Litigation Branch for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Nominated to the bench by President Obama on September 22, 2011, Wimes had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on November 14 and was reported out of committee on December 15 on a voice vote with only Senator Lee opposing him.  Despite his overwhelming bipartisan support at all stages of the process, it took this consensus nominee 131 days to receive a vote on the Senate floor. 

Speaking before the vote, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) noted that four months into the calendar year, the Senate is still voting on nominees who came out of Committee in 2011.  Leahy asserted, “We have yet to get to any of the nominees we should be considering this year because of Republican objections to proceeding more promptly.”

With 1 in 9 vacancies on the federal bench, the Senate should be taking action to confirm nominees expeditiously rather than dragging out the process in partisan gamesmanship.

For the most comprehensive, up-to-date information on judicial nominations, visit the Judicial Selection Project website.

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Thirty Nominees Awaiting Final Senate Votes

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee voted five judicial nominees out of committee, moving them forward to the full Senate for confirmation, bringing the total number of nominees awaiting floor votes to 30.  

Adalberto José Jordán, nominee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit, and three United States District Court nominees: Mary Elizabeth Phillips to the Western District of Missouri, Thomas Owen Rice to the Eastern District of Washington, and David Nuffer to the  District of Utah were reported out on a unanimous, en banc voice vote. John M. Gerrard to the District of Nebraska, was reported out on a bipartisan voice vote, with only one senator voting no.

Both Jordán and Nuffer have been appointed to fill vacancies designated as “judicial emergencies” by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Currently there are 32 judicial emergency vacancies, with 20 persons nominated to fill the seats. 

Responding to the strain being placed on our justice system by the lack of judges in the courts, the Committee also reported out S.1014, the Emergency Judicial Relief Act on a vote of 15-3, with Senators Grassley (R-IA), Sessions (R-AL), and Coburn (R-OK) voting no. The bill would establish ten new judgeships in parts of the country where courts are overloaded because the bench is woefully understaffed.

Holding swift votes on the 30 nominees pending on the Senate floor, all but 1 of whom came out of Committee with little or token opposition, is one way the Senate can take direct, immediate action to ease the burden on our judiciary and ensure that the American people have access to justice.

For the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on judicial nominations, see the Alliance for Justice’s Judicial Selection Project webpage.

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