Litigation

Momentum Building to End Secret ?Holds??

By Peter Hardin

An effort to end the practice of secret “holds” by U.S. senators is “gaining steam,” a National Public Radio report says.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is on board, and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, has collected 67 signers on a letter addressed to Senate leaders, promising not to use the maneuver and to try to eliminate the holds. To change Senate rules, 67 votes are needed. The holds are used covertly to delay action on bills or nominees.

“I have a feeling…that the storm clouds are gathering and the American people are beginning to learn about some of the bad habits around here, and at the top of that list are secret holds,” McCaskill said.

This week, the Justice at Stake Campaign and two partner groups called for efforts by the White House and Senate leaders to reduce a growing backlog of judicial nominations (see Gavel Grab). The groups? letter urged the Senate to end the practice of anonymous holds. The letter was the subject of an article in Jurist, produced at the University of Pittsburgh Law School.

In testimony Wednesday, Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution discussed Senate filibusters and holds, and trends affecting judicial appointments:

“[For appellate judges,]  the confirmation process over the last three decades has become increasingly prolonged and contentious.  The confirmation rate of presidential circuit court appointments has plummeted from above 90% in the late 1970s and early 1980s to below 50% in recent years.”

“[T]he conflict over appellate judges is spilling over to the district court appointments, which are beginning to produce similarly low rates of confirmation.”

Statements of the witnesses before the committee, and a webcast, are available by clicking here.

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 24, 2010 (boomark / email).