D.C. Council Asks Senate Leaders to Quickly Confirm New Judges

WASHINGTON -- The District of Columbia Council is urging the Senate to quickly confirm new judges to D.C. Superior Court as the backlog of cases grows.

The Council wrote a letter recently to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., asking for action before the New Year.

The D.C. Home Rule Act requires the district's Judicial Nomination Commission to recommend new judges, the president to nominate them and the Senate to confirm them.

There are nine open seats on the D.C. Superior Court bench with eight nominees. Two seats remain unfilled on the D.C. Court of Appeals with two nominees.

"These vacancies have a meaningful impact on our public safety goals, our criminal and civil dockets, and the sustainable case load for our existing judges," the council’s letter to the Senate leaders said.

"Should the currently pending judicial nominees fail to be confirmed by the end of year, the nomination process would have to start anew next year, wasting significant time and resources for the White House, the Senate and the District of Columbia courts," the letter said. "Some of these nominees have been waiting for more than four years for confirmation."

The council members said violent crime is down this year by 35 percent as a result of legislation they approved but tie-ups with court dockets are endangering the progress.

"But at the Superior Court, judges are handling a growing number of new cases and have struggled to meet required deadlines in criminal cases," their letter said. "At the Court of Appeals, case dispositions are down by nearly half compared to 2013, the last year the court had a full bench."

Criminal defense attorneys are warning that the delays risk violating defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights to speedy trials, possibly leading to dismissals of cases that need to be adjudicated.

The plea from the council was joined by a separate letter to Senate leaders from D.C. Superior Court chief judges.

"The current vacancies on our bench — one of which extends back to 2011 — continue to have an adverse impact on the D.C. courts ability to administer justice fairly and efficiently," the letter said.

Senate leaders say they want to move on the D.C. nominations but are trying to juggle other priorities.

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