Jimmy Carter judicial appointment controversies
During President
The four nominees were blocked in committee; no committee hearings ever were held for any of the three. The nominees were held up at the same time that in an unprecedented move, the Senate chose to take up Carter's November 13, 1980, nomination—after he already had lost the 1980 presidential election to
During his presidency, Carter also nominated 16 people for 15 different federal district judgeships who were never confirmed by the United States Senate.
List of unconfirmed appellate nominees
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- New York seat - Eugene Nickerson (judgeship later filled by Reagan nominee Lawrence W. Pierce)
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Texas seat - Andrew L. Jefferson, Jr. (judgeship later filled by Reagan nominee William Lockhart Garwood)
- Texas seat -
- United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Illinois seat - Nicholas Bua (judgeship later filled by Reagan nominee Richard Posner)[1][2]
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- Missouri seat - Howard F. Sachs (judgeship later filled by Reagan nominee John R. Gibson)
Others who were considered for nomination
In 1978 or 1979, Carter strongly and publicly had considered nominating Joan Krauskopf, then a law professor at the University of Missouri, to a newly created seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. However, Krauskopf received a "not qualified" rating from the American Bar Association because of an alleged lack of judicial experience. A White House staffer disputed that assertion, noting that the judges on the Eighth Circuit felt Krauskopf's teaching responsibilities had give her the requisite experience to handle the job, and that Krauskopf was thought by some in the ABA to be too liberal. Despite support for her candidacy by Missouri Sen. Thomas Eagleton, Carter himself, on the recommendation of his attorney general, Griffin Bell, made the decision not to proceed with Krauskopf's nomination.[3] Ultimately, Carter wound up nominating Richard S. Arnold to the seat in late 1979; he was confirmed in 1980.
Unconfirmed district court nominees
During his presidency, Carter nominated 16 people for 15 different federal district judgeships to federal district courts who never were confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Like the appellate court nominations mentioned above, many of these nominees were blocked by Republicans. One, however, was not confirmed because he died while his nomination was pending.
Of the 15 federal district judgeship vacancies in question, three eventually were filled with different Carter nominees and 12 were filled by nominees of President
The failed Carter district court nominees:
- United States District Court for the District of Maine
- David G. Roberts (nominated August 26, 1980; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee Conrad K. Cyr)[4]
- United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
- Jaime Pieras, Jr.)[5]
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- Philip Weinberg (nominated September 17, 1980; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee (and failed Carter nominee) I. Leo Glasser)[6]
- I. Leo Glasser (nominated September 17, 1980; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee Joseph M. McLaughlin; Glasser later was appointed by Reagan to a different seat on the Eastern District of New York)[6]
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- John E. Sprizzo (nominated June 2, 1980; judgeship later filled by Sprizzo himself, after President Reagan renominated him the following year)[7]
- United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
- Alan Neil Bloch)[8]
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
- Charles B. Winberry (nominated March 29, 1979, and withdrawn August 26, 1980; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee James Carroll Fox)[4][9]
- S. Gerald Arnold (nominated August 26, 1980; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee James Carroll Fox)[4]
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- James C. Cacheris)[10]
- United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- James Parker Jones (nominated on May 16, 1979; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee Jackson L. Kiser; Jones later was nominated and confirmed to a different seat on the Western District of Virginia by President Clinton)[11]
- United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
- Peter M. Lowry (nominated August 26, 1980; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee James Robertson Nowlin)[4]
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
- Alvin I. Krenzler)[12]
- United States District Court for the District of Hawaii
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- Ralph Wilson Nimmons, Jr. (nominated on September 17, 1980; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee John H. Moore II; Nimmons later was nominated and confirmed to a different seat on the Middle District of Florida by President George H. W. Bush)[16]
- United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- Carin Clauss (nominated on September 19, 1978; judgeship later filled by Carter appointee Joyce Hens Green)[17]
See also
- United States federal judge
- Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts
- Deaths of United States federal judges in active service
References
- ^ "Carter picks Bua for appeals court". Chicago Tribune. July 11, 1980. p. D1.
- ^ "GOP plans to block judges' nominations". Chicago Tribune. November 8, 1980. p. S3.
- ISBN 0-300-06962-6.
- ^ a b c d "NOMINATIONS SUBMITTED TO THE SENATE Week Ending | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ a b c "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ "NOMINATIONS SUBMITTED TO THE SENATE Week Ending Friday, | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
- ^ "Info". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-23.