President Bush Meets with Michigan Judicial Nominees
Remarks by the President After Meeting with Michigan Judicial Nominees
Oakland County International Airport
Waterford, Michigan
4:50 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: I just met with six of my judicial nominees from
the state of Michigan. I knew these were decent people, capable
people, when I nominated them. My meeting with them today confirmed
that. These are good people.
7/7/04
White House Chief Counsel Judge Gonzales Judge Gonzales
discussed judicial nominations on Ask the
White House. Click here to read the transcript
They are of
the highest caliber. They've been rated well by the
ABA -- qualified, or well-qualified. In other words, the experts have
taken a look at them and said these are qualified people to do the
job. They're devoted public servants. They -- their nominations are
stalled because of the tactics of a minority of senators. These are
superb nominees. They deserve a vote. They deserve to have their day
on the Senate floor.
Four of the nominees are waiting to join the 6th Circuit Court of
Appeals. David McKeague was confirmed unanimously by the Senate 12
years ago to serve as a federal judge for the Western District of
Michigan. Susan Neilson is an outstanding judge with more than a
decade of experience on the bench. Henry Saad is a state appeals court
judge. Richard Griffin has had 16 years of experience as a state
judge. These experienced and dedicated individuals are needed, vitally
needed, on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. I'll tell you why.
Congress has authorized 16 judges for this court; yet four seats are
vacant. All four of these vacancies have been designated judicial
emergencies by the Judicial Conference of the United States. It is
irresponsible for the United States Senate to deny an appeals court 25
percent of the judges it needs.
My nominees for the district courts in Michigan have also waited
far too long. Tom Ludington, a respected state judge for nearly 10
years, has waited more than 21 months without a vote. Dan Ryan, a
jurist with a decade of experience on the state bench, is held up for
more than a year. I believe this treatment is unfair. I believe it's
disrespectful. It is a disservice to the people of this state.
My Michigan nominees are not only the ones -- are not the only ones
being blocked by a Senate minority. Since I took office, more appeals
court nominees have been forced to wait over a year just for a hearing
than in the past 50 years combined. Six of my appeal court nominees
have earned enough support to be confirmed by a vote on the floor of
the Senate, yet have been filibustered. It's an unprecedented step
against appeals court nominees.
I believe this is unfair treatment. I believe that some senators
are doing this because they don't appreciate the fact that I named
judges who will faithfully interpret the law, not legislate from the
bench. They apparently want activist judges who will rewrite the law
from the bench. I believe if laws need to be written, they need to be
written by the legislature, by the legislative body.
Some members are undermining the quality of justice in America by
playing politics with these nominees. You see, vacancies on the bench
leave sitting judges overworked. They cause needless delays in the
provision of justice.
Now, I am pleased that the Senate recently voted on 25 of my
judicial nominees; that was a welcome step. Yet it's not enough.
These six from Michigan have waited far too long. The Senate must hear
that there is an emergency. The time -- the time for giving these men
and women a fair hearing is now. They deserve an up or down vote. I
proposed a way to fix this system, and that is for judges to provide a
one-year advance notice on retirement or departure. Upon that notice,
the President would select a nominee within 180 days. And then the
Senate would hold both a hearing and an up or down vote within 180 days
of the nomination. This seems fair to me. It would treat these people
who are willing to serve fairly.
I met with the six members, six nominees, because I wanted to
assure them I was not going to abandon their nomination, no matter what
the politics was like in the U.S. Senate, and I wanted to thank them
for their patience. It's not easy to be nominated and then have your
hearing held up for political purposes.
These are good, decent people. I asked them to thank their
families. And now I'm calling upon the senators from this state, and
the minority of senators who were refusing to move my nominees along,
to be fair and just give them a vote. They can express their opinions
about whether or not they think these judges are qualified --
obviously, I think they are. They can argue about their judicial
temperament, and that's a fine debate. But for fairness sake, give
them a vote, up or down.
The people of Michigan must know that six good, decent Michiganders
who are capable people are not being allowed to serve their state on
the federal benches because of politics being played in Washington,
D.C.
Thank you for giving me a chance to come by and discuss this very
important issue. I appreciate it.