Wilkins Nomination

Floor Speech

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak about the President's nominations to fill vacancies on the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

The DC Circuit, which is considered to be the second most important court in America, has 8 active judges of the 11 judgeships authorized by law. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have argued that the Senate should not confirm any of President Obama's nominees for these vacancies. But when there are vacancies in the Federal judiciary, it is the duty of the President to fill them, and it is the duty of the Senate to advise and consent in an honest and professional way to the filling of these vacancies. The Senate does not have the right to unilaterally determine that certain judicial seats and posts should never be filled by certain Presidents. That is exactly what is happening today in the U.S. Senate.

Today we are considering the nomination of Judge Robert Wilkins to serve on the DC Circuit. He currently serves as a Federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was confirmed by the Senate in 2010 by a voice vote--no controversy. Seventy of my colleagues, including 28 Republicans, were here for that confirmation.

There is no question that Judge Wilkins has the experience, qualifications, and integrity to be an outstanding circuit court judge. He is a native of Indiana and a graduate of Harvard Law. He worked for 11 years as a public defender in Washington, DC, and then joined the Venable law firm, where he served as a partner for nearly a decade.

As a judge, he has presided over hundreds of civil and criminal cases. He has a reputation, an unblemished reputation, for fairness and integrity. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which strongly supports his nomination, said he has a ``wealth of experience and impartiality'' and a ``steadfast commitment to enforcing the rule of law.''

He has been rated ``unanimously well-qualified'' to serve on the DC Circuit by the nonpartisan American Bar Association.

No Senator--not one--questioned his qualifications during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. As a sitting Federal judge, he has already demonstrated sound judgment and integrity.

He deserves an up-or-down vote on his nomination. And he deserves to be confirmed. But my Republican colleagues have made it clear that, once again, they are going to filibuster President Obama's nominee to the DC Circuit. It has nothing to do with Judge Wilkins, they say. They just do not want any Democratic President to fill this vacancy on this important court, period. This is becoming a pattern, an embarrassing pattern, in the U.S. Senate, and this court is exhibit A in the abuse of the filibuster.

President George W. Bush made six nominations for the DC Circuit during his Presidency. Four were confirmed by the Senate. President Obama has made five nominations for the DC Circuit. If the Republicans filibuster Judge Wilkins today, as they have threatened, then four out of the five of this President's nominees will have been filibustered.

Let's go through these nominees, just to recollect.

Caitlin Halligan, Patricia Millett, and Nina Pillard--some of the finest attorneys in the country, some of the most outstanding women who have ever been nominated for a Federal judgeship--were all filibustered and stopped by the Republicans.

My Republican colleagues say this is an argument about caseload because there is not enough work to justify these judges. This argument does not make sense. My Republican colleagues were eager to confirm nominees for the 9th, 10th, and 11th seats on the DC Circuit when it was a Republican President. You did not hear them talk about caseload then. This is a manufactured excuse for them to filibuster President Obama's nominees.

When it comes to DC Circuit nominees by our current Democratic President, it looks as though we will see four times as many filibusters as confirmations. This is unacceptable. It is disgraceful. These judicial vacancies are authorized by law, and the President has nominated extraordinarily well-qualified women and men to fill them. These nominees do not deserve a filibuster. They deserve a chance to be judged on their merits.

I urge my Republican colleagues to stop these filibusters now and to allow an up-or-down vote on Judge Wilkins and these other outstanding nominees.

We reached a bit of an agreement here a number of years ago that we would not stop these nominees unless there were ``extraordinary circumstances.'' That was the term that was used. It turns out one of those extraordinary circumstances is when a Democratic President named Barack Obama makes a nomination. Too many Republicans think that is extraordinary and that they can stop well-qualified, good people from serving our Nation and serving on this important court.

We will have a chance this afternoon. I hope Judge Wilkins will be given that chance to serve on this important court.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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