UPDATE on the Republican obstruction of judicial nominations, particularly as it relates to the nomination of Circuit Judge Jay Moody to a seat on the federal eastern district court bench in Little Rock.
Thanks again to Glenn Sugameli and Carl Tobias for the heads-up:
Sen. Harry Reid asked for unanimous consent to take up the presidential nominations of four judicial nominations, including Jay Moody. This time, Sen. Jon Cornyn of Texas objected. Reid then filed for cloture on the nomination. That means a vote to prevent filibuster. The first vote will be at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24. If cloture is invoked, there would be up to two hours for debate, then a vote. Then the process would repeat.
This could resolve the issue of Moody’s appointment if not on Monday, Feb. 24, by Tuesday or Wednesday of that week. Feb. 24 is the first day of filing for his current judgeship. Other candidates are interested, particularly Cathi Compton, who’s withheld an announcement because of her friendship with Moody and the possibility he might have to run again. Luther Sutter has announced for the judgeship.
If Republicans require cloture on every judicial nomination it doesn’t bode well for efficient business.
Other judges affected in this batch are Jeffrey Alker Meyer of Connecticut, James Donato of California and Beth Labson Freeman, of California, all for district judgeships.
CORRECTION: I’ve screwed this up royally twice. The correct timing is an initial cloture vote on Feb. 24, the day filing opens for Moody’s seat.