Superior Court judge Catherine Eagles’ nomination to serve as a federal judge for North Carolina’s Middle District has been in the waiting game since March without an up-or-down Senate vote. And Judge Albert Diaz’s nomination to serve on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has languished for nearly a year.
As this Congress comes to a close, there are still 38 judicial nominees awaiting final Senate votes, including 30 who were approved unanimously by the Judiciary Committee. Judges Eagles and Diaz are among the 30 who were approved unanimously.
Judge Eagles has served as a Resident Superior Court judge in Guilford County since 1993 and often presides in Forsyth County. She was elected Senior Resident Superior Court judge in 2006. Prior to her appointment to the bench in 1993, Judge Eagles practiced law at Smith Moore Leatherwood in Greensboro, specializing in complex civil litigation, products liability and trade secrets.
Since 2005, Judge Diaz has served as one of North Carolina’s three Business Court judges, handling extremely complex business cases, and previously he was a state Superior Court judge. He started his career as a lawyer in the Marine Corps.
Judges Eagles and Diaz have received a unanimous rating of “well qualified” from the American Bar Association — the highest possible rating. Sen. Richard Burr and I both strongly support these nominees.
District Courts are critically important to the judicial process, and the vacancy caused by Judge Eagles’ stalled nomination has serious implications for the efficient delivery of justice in North Carolina.
As for Judge Diaz’s nomination, North Carolina is the largest and fastest growing state in the 4th Circuit, but we have been historically underrepresented on this court. One of my priorities has been to increase North Carolina’s representation on the 4th Circuit. After many months of working with the White House, it was a terrific victory for North Carolina when the president nominated two North Carolinians — Judge Diaz and Judge Jim Wynn — to the court. Judge Wynn was confirmed in August, but Judge Diaz still has not had an up-or-down vote.
The 4th Circuit is the last stop for almost all federal cases in the region, and we need to have the court at full strength. Because of its longstanding vacancies, the administrative office of the U.S. Courts considers the 4th Circuit a “judicial emergency.” This negatively impacts appellate justice for North Carolinians.
The delay for judicial nominees is unprecedented. By Dec. 10, 2002, during the Bush administration, the Senate had confirmed 100 judicial nominees. But as of today, the Senate has confirmed just 41 judicial nominees. During the first two years of the previous administration, it took an average of 25 days for a district-court nominee to be confirmed after being approved by the Judiciary Committee. Since President Obama took office, it has taken an average of 82 days. President Obama’s district-court nominees have waited more than three times longer than President Bush’s nominees to be confirmed by the Senate. Judge Eagles has waited nearly nine times as long — 219 days. This is totally unacceptable.
Despite bipartisan support for these nominations, Republican obstruction has caused them to stall. These objections have nothing to do with the qualifications of Judges Eagles or Diaz and everything to do with partisan gamesmanship.
The nominations of these two outstanding North Carolina judges will expire if the Senate does not vote on them before the 111th Congress adjourns. I will continue fighting to see that they are confirmed. North Carolina deserves better than the gridlock that has thus far prevented an up-or-down vote on these two extremely well-qualified nominees.
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