George W. Bush judicial appointment controversies explained

During President George W. Bush's two term tenure in office, a few of his nominations for federal judgeships were blocked by the Senate Democrats either directly in the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the full Senate floor in various procedural moves, including the first use of a filibuster to block a Federal Appeals Court nominee.^[1] Republicans labeled it an unwarranted obstruction of professionally qualified judicial nominees.^[2]

List of unsuccessful federal judicial nominations

Bush made 53 nominations for federal judgeships that were not confirmed by the Senate. Of these, 14 were withdrawn by Bush, while the other 39 expired at an adjournment of the Senate, including 30 that expired at the close of the 110th Congress. As of October 16, 2019, 12 of his unsuccessful nominees had been nominated to federal judgeships by subsequent presidents, with 10 of them having been confirmed.

Nominee	Court	Nomination date	Date of final action	Final action	Subsequent federal judicial nominations	Seat filled by	Ref.
Supreme Court
	SCOTUS			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Samuel Alito	^[3]
	SCOTUS			withdrawn by Pres. Bush			^[4]
Courts of appeals
	4th Cir.			returned to the president		James A. Wynn Jr.	^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10]
	D.C. Cir.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Thomas B. Griffith	^[11] ^[12] ^[13]
	5th Cir.			returned to the president		Leslie H. Southwick	^[14] ^[15] ^[16] ^[17]
	9th Cir.			returned to the president		Sandra Segal Ikuta	^[18] ^[19] ^[20]
	11th Cir.			returned to the president		William H. Pryor Jr.	^[21]
	6th Cir.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Raymond Kethledge	^[22] ^[23] ^[24]
	4th Cir.			returned to the president		Andre M. Davis	^[25] ^[26]
	9th Cir.			returned to the president		N. Randy Smith	^[27] ^[28] ^[29] ^[30]
	10th Cir.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Jerome Holmes	^[31]
	4th Cir.			returned to the president		Barbara Milano Keenan	^[32] ^[33] ^[34] ^[35]
	5th Cir.			returned to the president		Leslie H. Southwick	^[36] ^[37] ^[38]
	6th Cir.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Helene White	^[39] ^[40]
	D.C. Cir.			returned to the president		Patricia Millett	^[41] ^[42] ^[43]
	4th Cir.			returned to the president		James A. Wynn Jr.	^[44]
	3rd Cir.			returned to the president		Joseph A. Greenaway Jr.	^[45]
	4th Cir.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Barbara Milano Keenan	^[46]
	4th Cir.			returned to the president		Albert Diaz	^[47]
	4th Cir.			returned to the president		Andre M. Davis	^[48]
	3rd Cir.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Thomas I. Vanaskie	^[49]
	1st Cir.			returned to the president		O. Rogeriee Thompson	^[50]
	4th Cir.			returned to the president		Barbara Milano Keenan	^[51]
	3rd Cir.			returned to the president		Thomas I. Vanaskie	^[52]
	2nd Cir.			returned to the president		Gerard E. Lynch	^[53]
	7th Cir.			returned to the president		David Hamilton	^[54]
District courts
	D. Haw.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		John Michael Seabright	^[55] ^[56]
	E.D. Mich.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Stephen Murphy III	^[57] ^[58]
	N.D. Okla.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Gregory Kent Frizzell	^[59]
	S.D. Miss.			returned to the president		Carlton W. Reeves	^[60]
	N.D.N.Y.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Mae D'Agostino	^[61] ^[62]
	C.D. Cal.			returned to the president		Jacqueline Nguyen	^[63] ^[64]
	E.D.N.C.			returned to the president		Richard E. Myers II	^[65] ^[66]
	M.D. La.			returned to the president		Brian A. Jackson	^[67]
	D. Wyo.			returned to the president		Nancy D. Freudenthal	^[68]
	N.D. W. Va.			returned to the president		Gina M. Groh	^[69]
	M.D. Tenn.			returned to the president		Kevin H. Sharp	^[70]
	D.R.I.			returned to the president		John J. McConnell Jr.	^[71]
	E.D. Va.			returned to the president		John A. Gibney Jr.	^[72]
	E.D. Pa.			returned to the president		vacancy nullified	^[73] ^[74]
	D. Del.			returned to the president		Leonard P. Stark	^[75]
	D.D.C.			returned to the president		Amy Berman Jackson	^[76]
	D.D.C.			returned to the president		James E. Boasberg	^[77]
	D. Colo.			returned to the president		R. Brooke Jackson	^[78]
	M.D. Fla.			returned to the president		Charlene Edwards Honeywell	^[79]
	E.D. Wis.			returned to the president		vacancy rescinded	^[80]
	D. Ore.			returned to the president		Himself	^[81]
	N.D. Ill.			returned to the president		Sharon Johnson Coleman	^[82]
	S.D. Miss.			returned to the president		Carlton W. Reeves	^[83]
	N.D.N.Y.			returned to the president		Mae D'Agostino	^[84]
	W.D. Wis.			returned to the president		James D. Peterson	^[85]
Article I courts
	T.C.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Mark V. Holmes	^[86]
	T.C.			withdrawn by Pres. Bush		Richard T. Morrison	^[87] ^[88]

107th Congress

Yale law professor Bruce Ackerman argued in a February 2001 edition of the magazine The American Prospect that Bush should not be permitted to place nominees on the Supreme Court during his first term due to the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore.^[89] In addition, law professors Cass Sunstein (University of Chicago) and Laurence Tribe (Harvard), along with Marcia Greenberger of the National Women's Law Center, counseled Senate Democrats in April 2001 "to scrutinize judicial nominees more closely than ever." Specifically, they said, "there was no obligation to confirm someone just because they are scholarly or erudite."^[90]

In March 2001, the Bush administration stopped relying on the American Bar Association (ABA) for the screening process for qualified judicial candidates. The administration justified the move by saying the ABA was liberal.^[91]

On May 9, 2001, President Bush announced his first eleven court of appeals nominees in a special White House ceremony.^[92] This initial group of nominees included Roger Gregory, a Clinton recess-appointed judge to the Fourth Circuit, as a peace offering to Senate Democrats. There was, however, immediate concern expressed by Senate Democrats and liberal groups like the Alliance for Justice.^{[93] [94]} Democratic Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York said that the White House was "trying to create the most ideological bench in the history of the nation."^[95]

108th Congress

During the 108th Congress in which the Republicans regained control of the Senate by a 51–49 margin, the nominees that the Senate Democrats had blocked in the 107th Congress began to be moved through the now Republican Senate Judiciary Committee.^[96] Subsequently, Senate Democrats started to filibuster judicial nominees. On February 12, 2003, Miguel Estrada, a nominee for the D.C. Circuit, became the first court of appeals nominee ever to be successfully filibustered. Later, nine other conservative court of appeals nominees were also filibustered. These nine were Priscilla Owen, Charles W. Pickering, Carolyn Kuhl, David McKeague, Henry Saad, Richard Allen Griffin, William H. Pryor, William Gerry Myers III and Janice Rogers Brown.^[97] Three of the nominees (Estrada, Pickering and Kuhl) withdrew their nominations before the end of the 108th Congress. Bush nominee Sandra Segal Ikuta would later be appointed to the seat Kuhl was nominated for.

As a result of these ten filibusters, Senate Republicans began to threaten to change the existing Senate rules by using what Senator Trent Lott termed the "nuclear option". This change in rules would eliminate the use of the filibuster to prevent judicial confirmation votes. However, in the 108th Congress, with only a two-vote majority, the Republicans were in a weak position to implement this procedural maneuver.

On October 7, 2004, just prior to the presidential election, Senate Democrats issued a statement complete with statistics arguing that they were not obstructing Bush nominees in any systemic way.^[98] District court candidates nominated by Bush were being confirmed at a higher rate than those similarly situated candidates nominated by Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton in their first term. Bush's success rate at getting circuit court of appeals nominees confirmed during his first term (67%) was less than those of Reagan (85%) and Clinton (71%), although higher than Clinton's second term (55%).^[99]

109th Congress

Things changed in 2005 due to the 2004 elections. With President Bush's re-election and the Republicans picking up further Senate seats (55–45) in the 109th Congress, the "nuclear option" became a more viable strategy to ensure confirmation. On May 24, 2005, seven moderate senators of each party, called the Gang of 14, in a deal to avoid the use of the "nuclear option", agreed to drop the filibuster against three of the seven remaining affected court of appeals nominees (Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, and William Pryor) but not two others (Henry Saad and William Myers).^[100] In addition, the senators in the group agreed not to block future judicial nominees with filibusters except in cases involving "extraordinary circumstances".

As a direct result of the deal, the two filibustered nominees not mentioned in it (David McKeague and Richard Allen Griffin) were confirmed, as was Thomas B. Griffith, the person nominated to replace Miguel Estrada after his withdrawal. Griffith too had become the subject of controversy.^[101] Since Saad had no hope of a successful cloture vote to overcome his filibuster due to the deal, he withdrew his nomination in the spring of 2006.^[102] Bush nominee Raymond Kethledge would later be appointed to the seat.

At the end of the 109th Congress, a new controversy arose over William Myers and three other Bush court of appeals nominees who had not been specifically mentioned in the Gang deal but were still subject to its provisions: Terrence Boyle, William J. Haynes, II and Michael B. Wallace. These nominations were returned to the White House according to Senate rules on August 3, 2006, in advance of the annual August recess of Congress. When the Senate returned in September, it was only for a short period before a break for the 2006 midterm election. Although Boyle, Myers, Haynes and Wallace were renominated, again no action was taken on them in the Senate Judiciary Committee before the break, and their nominations were sent back a second time to the White House on September 29.^[103]

After the November 7, 2006 election in which Democrats picked up six additional Senate seats, President Bush again renominated the candidates whose nominations had been sent back to him in September. The Republican Judiciary Committee chairman, Senator Arlen Specter, however, said that he would not process these nominees during the lame duck session of the 109th Congress.^[104] Bush would later nominate Leslie H. Southwick to the seat Wallace was nominated for and he would be confirmed, while N. Randy Smith, who had previously been nominated for another seat on the Ninth Circuit, would be appointed to the seat Myers was nominated for. Obama nominee John B. Owens would later fill the seat Smith was originally nominated to. Southwick had previously been nominated to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, which would later be filled by Obama nominee Carlton W. Reeves.

110th Congress

At the beginning of the 110th Congress in January 2007, President Bush did not renominate Boyle, Myers, Haynes and Wallace in an attempt at reconciliation with the Democrats.^[105] However, that did not stop many Bush judicial nominees from being blocked in committee by the new Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy. Among those stalled in committee until their nominations lapsed were appellate nominees Peter Keisler, Robert J. Conrad, Steve A. Matthews and Glen E. Conrad. The latter three seats would later be filled by Obama nominees James A. Wynn Jr., Albert Diaz, and Barbara Milano Keenan.

Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic Majority Leader, and Chairman Leahy cited the previous controversy over President Clinton's court of appeals nominees in justifying why only ten Bush appellate nominees were confirmed during the 110th Congress.^{[106] [107] [108]} A total of eleven appellate seats with Bush nominees were left open at the end of the 110th Congress. Of those seats, two (i.e. the North Carolina and Maryland seats of the Fourth Circuit) had originally become available to fill during the administration of President Bill Clinton.

Others who were considered for nomination

In the spring of 2001, then-Representative Christopher Cox and lawyer Peter Keisler were both considered for federal appellate judgeships. Cox was considered for a California seat on the Ninth Circuit and Keisler for a Maryland seat on the Fourth Circuit. Both withdrew themselves from consideration before a nomination could be made because their home state Democratic senators objected to them due to their perceived conservatism.^[109] The California seat that Cox had been considered for was eventually filled by Bush nominee Carlos Bea. In 2005, Cox was nominated and confirmed as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a position he held until the end of the Bush administration in January 2009. The Maryland seat that Keisler had been considered for was to remain open the entirety of Bush's presidency with the failed nominations of Claude Allen and Rod J. Rosenstein and would be filled by Obama nominee Andre M. Davis. in 2009. In 2006, Keisler was unsuccessfully nominated to a seat on the D.C. Circuit. The seat would be filled by Obama nominee Patricia Millett in 2013. In 2007, after the resignation of Alberto Gonzales, Keisler became the Acting Attorney General until the confirmation of Michael Mukasey.^[110] He left the Department of Justice in March 2008 to return to private practice.

See also

• Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts
• Deaths of United States federal judges in active service

Notes and References

1. Web site: President Bush Discusses Judicial Accomplishments and Philosophy . July 14, 2015 . October 6, 2008 . Georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090813153034/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/10/20081006-5.html . August 13, 2009 .
2. Web site: Remember Judges?. October 27, 2008. July 27, 2006. Sean . Rushton. https://web.archive.org/web/20080113194124/http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2E4YThmZjE3YjllNTI1OWJjZTNjY2JlODk0MGZjNDk=. January 13, 2008. National Review.
3. Web site: PN786 — John G. Roberts Jr. — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
4. Web site: PN978 — Harriet Ellan Miers — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
5. Web site: PN394 — Terrence W. Boyle — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
6. Web site: PN892 — Terrence W. Boyle — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
7. Web site: PN3 — Terrence W. Boyle — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
8. Web site: PN192 — Terrence W. Boyle — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
9. Web site: PN1929 — Terrence W. Boyle — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
10. Web site: PN2175 — Terrence W. Boyle — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
11. Web site: PN401 — Miguel A. Estrada — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
12. Web site: PN896 — Miguel A. Estrada — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
13. Web site: PN6 — Miguel A. Estrada — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
14. Web site: PN471 — Charles W. Pickering Sr. — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
15. Web site: PN885 — Charles W. Pickering Sr. — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
16. Web site: PN12 — Charles W. Pickering Sr. — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
17. Web site: PN1326 — Charles W. Pickering Sr. — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
18. Web site: PN564 — Carolyn B. Kuhl — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
19. Web site: PN899 — Carolyn B. Kuhl — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
20. Web site: PN8 — Carolyn B. Kuhl — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
21. Web site: PN1116 — William H. Steele — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
22. Web site: PN1199 — Henry W. Saad — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
23. Web site: PN14 — Henry W. Saad — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
24. Web site: PN198 — Henry W. Saad — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
25. Web site: PN534 — Claude A. Allen — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
26. Web site: PN1202 — Claude A. Allen — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
27. Web site: PN658 — William Gerry Myers III — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
28. Web site: PN199 — William Gerry Myers III — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
29. Web site: PN1926 — William Gerry Myers III — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
30. Web site: PN2178 — William Gerry Myers III — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
31. Web site: PN946 — James Hardy Payne — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
32. Web site: PN978 — William James Haynes II — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
33. Web site: PN193 — William James Haynes II — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
34. Web site: PN1928 — William James Haynes II — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
35. Web site: PN2176 — William James Haynes II — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
36. Web site: PN1297 — Michael Brunson Wallace — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
37. Web site: PN1923 — Michael Brunson Wallace — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
38. Web site: PN2182 — Michael Brunson Wallace — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
39. Web site: PN1748 — Stephen Joseph Murphy III — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
40. Web site: PN344 — Stephen Joseph Murphy III — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
41. Web site: PN1781 — Peter D. Keisler — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
42. Web site: PN2177 — Peter D. Keisler — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
43. Web site: PN10 — Peter D. Keisler — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
44. Web site: PN765 — Robert J. Conrad Jr. — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
45. Web site: PN767 — Shalom D. Stone — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
46. Web site: PN874 — E. Duncan Getchell Jr. — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
47. Web site: PN875 — Steve A. Matthews — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
48. Web site: PN1062 — Rod J. Rosenstein — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
49. Web site: PN1063 — Gene E. K. Pratter — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
50. Web site: PN1117 — William E. Smith — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
51. Web site: PN1660 — Glen E. Conrad — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
52. Web site: PN1908 — Paul S. Diamond — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
53. Web site: PN1989 — Loretta A. Preska — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
54. Web site: PN2085 — Philip P. Simon — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
55. Web site: PN1325 — Frederick W. Rohlfing III — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
56. Web site: PN30 — Fredrick W. Rohlfing III — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
57. Web site: PN543 — Daniel P. Ryan — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
58. Web site: PN205 — Daniel P. Ryan — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
59. Web site: PN1326 — Jerome A. Holmes — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
60. Web site: PN1654 — Leslie Southwick — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
61. Web site: PN1750 — Mary O. Donohue — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
62. Web site: PN13 — Mary O. Donohue — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
63. Web site: PN2179 — James Edward Rogan — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
64. Web site: PN28 — James Edward Rogan — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
65. Web site: PN2206 — Thomas Alvin Farr — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
66. Web site: PN14 — Thomas Alvin Farr — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
67. Web site: PN349 — David R. Dugas — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
68. Web site: PN351 — Richard H. Honaker — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
69. Web site: PN606 — William J. Powell — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
70. Web site: PN654 — Gustavus Adolphus Puryear IV — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
71. Web site: PN1064 — Lincoln D. Almond — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
72. Web site: PN1067 — David J. Novak — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
73. Web site: PN1068 — Carolyn P. Short — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
74. Web site: PN1911 — Carolyn P. Short — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
75. Web site: PN1363 — Colm F. Connolly — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
76. Web site: PN1793 — Michael O'Neill — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
77. Web site: PN1794 — Jeffrey Adam Rosen — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
78. Web site: PN1845 — Gregory E. Goldberg — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
79. Web site: PN1846 — William Frederic Jung — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
80. Web site: PN1876 — Timothy G. Dugan — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
81. Web site: PN1902 — Marco A. Hernandez — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
82. Web site: PN1960 — John J. Tharp Jr. — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
83. Web site: PN1961 — J. Richard Barry — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
84. Web site: PN1962 — Thomas Marcelle — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
85. Web site: PN1990 — J. Mac Davis — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
86. Web site: PN1247 — Francis L. Cramer III — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
87. Web site: PN2156 — Glen L. Bower — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
88. Web site: PN39 — Glen L. Bower — The Judiciary. Congress.gov.
89. Web site: The Court Packs Itself. October 27, 2008. February 12, 2001. Bruce . Ackerman. The American Prospect. https://web.archive.org/web/20041224170504/http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=5663. December 24, 2004.
90. News: Washington Talk; Democrats Readying for Judicial Fight . . Neil A. . Lewis . May 1, 2001 . October 20, 2010.
91. Web site: Bush Dumps Bar Ratings of Judges. 2020-11-18. ABC News. en.
92. Web site: Remarks by the President During Federal Judicial Appointees Announcement . July 14, 2015. May 9, 2001. Georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov.
93. Web site: No Rush to Judges. https://archive.today/20130204001920/http://www.thenation.com/doc/20010604/editors2. dead. February 4, 2013. October 28, 2008. May 17, 2001. The Nation.
94. Web site: Judicial Selection in the First Two Years of the George W. Bush Administration. October 27, 2008. 2003. February 21, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070221134903/http://www.allianceforjustice.org/images/collection_images/2001-02_AFJ_Biennial_Report.pdf. Allianceforjustice.org.
95. News: Bush to Nominate 11 to Judgeships Today . The New York Times . Neil A. . Lewis . May 9, 2001 . July 14, 2015.
96. News: Who's Who . . Susan . Threadgill . 2003. October 27, 2008.
97. Web site: Failed Cloture Votes on President Bush's Nominees . July 14, 2015. American Bar Association. July 26, 2004 .
98. Web site: Judicial Nominations Update: Bush Judicial Nominees Confirmed At a Rate Better Than or Equal to Recent Presidents . July 4, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100727153537/http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/dpc-new.cfm?doc_name=fs-108-2-282. July 27, 2010. October 7, 2004 . Democrats.senate.gov.
99. Web site: Judicial Nominations Update: Bush Judicial Nominees Confirmed At a Rate Better Than or Equal to Recent Presidents . July 4, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100727153537/http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/dpc-new.cfm?doc_name=fs-108-2-282. July 27, 2010. October 7, 2004 . Democrats.senate.gov.
100. News: Senators compromise on filibusters . . May 24, 2005 . May 3, 2010.
101. News: Judicial Nominee Practiced Law Without License in Utah . . June 21, 2004 . May 3, 2010. Carol D. . Leonnig.
102. Web site: Saad Withdraws. October 27, 2008. August 12, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090812140144/http://bench.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NTQ5OWNkOGIzZGI0OTQ3MjIwNTAzMTFiMmE0MWY4NDE=. March 23, 2006. Ken. Tomas. Associated Press. National Review.
103. Web site: Daily Digest. October 27, 2008. September 29, 2006. https://archive.today/20120711211816/http://origin.www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/digest2006/d29SE061.txt. July 11, 2012. Origin.www.Gpoaccess.gov.
104. News: Bush Renominates Judicial Picks . The Washington Post . Peter . Baker . November 16, 2006 . May 3, 2010.
105. News: Bush Drops Plans to Renominate 3 Judges . The New York Times . Neil A. . Lewis . January 10, 2007 . May 3, 2010.
106. Web site: Reid Statement On Judicial Nominations. July 14, 2015. Democrats.senate.gov. April 10, 2008. June 6, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110606164142/http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=296022&. dead.
107. Web site: Statement of The Honorable Patrick Leahy. October 27, 2008. June 15, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100615053539/http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=3585&wit_id=2629. September 23, 2008. Patrick . Leahy. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
108. Web site: Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Judicial Nominations. October 27, 2008. September 26, 2008. January 6, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100106172425/http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200809/092608f.html. Leahy.senate.gov.
109. News: Bush to Reveal First Judicial Choices Soon. Neil A.. Lewis . The New York Times . April 24, 2001 . 0362-4331 . June 19, 2012.
110. Web site: Remarks on the Nomination of Judge Michael B. Mukasey To Be Attorney General The American Presidency Project. 2021-11-08. www.presidency.ucsb.edu.