Green nomination stuck in Senate

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The Senate will consider confirming several judgeships Monday, but the nomination of Monroe County District Attorney Michael C. Green is not one of them.

Earlier this week, according to the Congressional Record, a unanimous consent-time agreement was reached to go into executive session at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 3 to consider six nominations. This included the nomination for Marina Garcia Marmolejo, whose hearing was conducted the same time as Green’s — both were reported to the Senate by its Judiciary Committee on June 16.

Green is being considered for the Western District of New York to fill a vacancy in Rochester created by the March 2009 elevation of Judge David G. Larimer to senior status. That vacancy is one of 35 considered as emergencies, according to the U.S. Courts’ website at www.uscourts.gov and is one of three emergencies in the Second Circuit.

There are 93 vacancies on the federal bench, including 75 in U.S. district courts for which there are 44 nominations pending. Twenty-seven nominations, including Green’s, have been approved by the Judiciary Committee and forwarded to the Senate for a vote, according to Glenn Sugameli, staff attorney for Defenders of Wildlife’s Judging the Environment project, which tracks federal judicial nominations.

Marmolejo is being considered for a federal judgeship in the Southern District of Texas.

The Senate also agreed Monday to consider four other judicial nominations sometime after Oct. 11. The time will be determined by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., after consulting with Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

That unjustifiably leaves 17 judicial nominations in limbo, Sugameli said, noting he has no idea why Green’s is not included with those coming up for votes, but believes Senate Republicans are holding up the nomination process.

“This pace has been very slow since they came back from the August recess,” Sugameli said. “The only real reason for this process, I’m convinced, is that they’re just trying to clog up the pipeline so there will be a lot of vacancies to be filled after the next presidential election.”

He said traditionally, the process is eventually stopped on nominations pending in an election year so the next president can make his or her own nominations, but that doesn’t happen until the election year, which, in this case, is next year.

“I can say the only reason they aren’t having votes on all the nominees that cleared committee is that one or more Republicans, anonymously, is objecting to having floor votes at this time,” Sugameli said.

He said what is unusual is that many of the nominations were unanimously confirmed by “a very polarized committee” and are still not coming to a vote, which he said has never happened before — at least in the 10 years his project has been around.

Sugameli said Green’s nomination was approved by voice vote with Sen. Michael S. Lee, R-Utah, the only one opposed. He said others who had more opposition or came out of committee after Green have been moved ahead of him.

“It’s really bizarre,” Sugameli said. “I know there was some initial buzz about why he wasn’t moving, but once he moved, it stopped. If there was any issue at all, I’m convinced there would have been a bunch of ‘no’ votes [in committee]. I think it’s pretty safe to say nothing will happen on Green and the others until at least Oct. 11.”

Green was recommended for nomination by New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer who could not immediately be reached for comment. Schumer has said a number of times that he is confident Green will be confirmed.

Green has been with the district attorney’s office for 17 years, serving as district attorney since Jan. 1, 2004. His seat was up for re-election this year, but he chose to await Senate confirmation and not to run.