Government
Jun. 22, 2002
Panel OKs Sacramento Man For U.S. District Court Post
WASHINGTON - Sacramento Superior Court Judge Morrison Cohen England Jr. was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday to be a U.S. district judge.
But whether England gets confirmed soon by the full Senate to the seat on the Eastern District of California will depend upon how quickly the chamber's leaders call a cease-fire in a backroom skirmish over a group of President Bush's nominations awaiting floor votes.
At issue is a dispute between Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., over a growing list of nominations that now includes England and 14 others seeking federal judgeships.
The stalemate also has delayed the confirmation of Kevin V. Ryan, who was unanimously approved June 13 by the Judiciary Committee to be U.S. attorney for San Francisco.
The political sparring was sparked by the defeated nomination of 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hopeful Charles W. Pickering, whose elevation was dashed in a party-line vote by the committee in March. Pickering's loss became symbolic of the ideological battle between the Democratic Senate majority and the Republican White House.
The Mississippi district court judge is a friend of Lott, who angrily vowed he would block the confirmation of a Daschle aide Bush nominated to be a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission.
A Daschle spokeswoman labeled "inaccurate" a Capitol Hill newspaper report Thursday stating that the two leaders were on the verge of a deal to move the FCC and judicial nominations forward.
"There is no deal," Ranit Schmelzer, the Daschle aide, said. "There have been discussions. We hope to have a deal at some point, but we're not there yet."
Any possible deal would presumably allow floor votes for nominees before the July Fourth congressional recess.
A spokesman for Lott did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The Senate has held 72 confirmation hearings and confirmed 57 district and circuit court nominees out of 103 named by President Bush since Democrats gained control of the Senate last year. Still without hearings are 13, who, in some cases, have been deemed too "controversial" by the Democratic majority.
Of the three circuit and 12 district court nominees currently waiting for floor votes, most are expected to be easily confirmed. The only controversial nominee likely to face some opposition is 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals nominee D. Brooks Smith of Pennsylvania.
England's 19-to-0 committee vote on Thursday came three months after his nomination by Bush and one week since his confirmation hearing, where he faced tough questions over a controversial State Bar of California case he handled, Brosterhaus v. State Bar, CV527974 (Sacramento Super. Ct. Aug. 18, 1999).
But even Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc. - who presided over England's hearing last week and posed the queries about the First Amendment case - voted "aye," in absentia, for his nomination during Thursday's committee meeting.
"Judge England is the third candidate to come out of California's Judicial Advisory Committee," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a statement. "It is a testament to his ability and experience that the [advisory] committee forwarded his name to President Bush with a unanimous 6 to 0 vote. I am confident that he will be an outstanding jurist for the Eastern District."
England is a graduate of the University of the Pacific and played briefly for the New York Jets in 1976.
After becoming a name partner at Quattrin, Johnson, Campora, and England in Sacramento, he was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson to the Sacramento Municipal Court and then a year later to the Superior Court. He also is a major in the Army Reserve's judge advocate general corps.
James Gordon Meek
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