During President
Jimmy Carter
's presidency, he nominated four people for four different
federal appellate judgeships
who were not processed by the
Democratic
-controlled
Senate Judiciary Committee
before Carter's presidency ended. None of the four nominees were renominated by Carter's successor, President
Ronald Reagan
. Three of the nominees who were not processed (
Eugene Nickerson
,
Nicholas Bua
and
Howard F. Sachs
) were nominated after July 1, 1980, the traditional start date of the unofficial
Thurmond rule
during a presidential election year. All four seats eventually were filled by appointees of President
Ronald Reagan
.
The four nominees were blocked in committee; no committee hearings ever were held for any of the three. The nominees were held up at the same time that in an unprecedented move, the Senate chose to take up Carter's November 13, 1980, nomination?after he already had lost the 1980 presidential election to
Ronald Reagan
?of
Stephen Breyer
to an appellate judgeship on the
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
. The Senate wound up confirming Breyer (whom President
Bill Clinton
appointed to the
United States Supreme Court
in 1994) during the lame-duck session of the
96th Congress
the following month. (Breyer's appellate court confirmation in 1980, which was the result of support from both Democrats and Republicans on the
Senate Judiciary Committee
, often is cited as evidence disproving the existence of the Thurmond Rule.)
During his presidency, Carter also nominated 16 people for 15 different
federal district judgeships
who were never confirmed by the United States Senate.
List of unconfirmed appellate nominees
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Others who were considered for nomination
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In 1978 or 1979, Carter strongly and publicly had considered nominating
Joan Krauskopf
, then a law professor at the
University of Missouri
, to a newly created seat on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
. However, Krauskopf received a "not qualified" rating from the
American Bar Association
because of an alleged lack of judicial experience. A White House staffer disputed that assertion, noting that the judges on the Eighth Circuit felt Krauskopf's teaching responsibilities had give her the requisite experience to handle the job, and that Krauskopf was thought by some in the ABA to be too liberal. Despite support for her candidacy by Missouri Sen.
Thomas Eagleton
, Carter himself, on the recommendation of his attorney general,
Griffin Bell
, made the decision not to proceed with Krauskopf's nomination.
[3]
Ultimately, Carter wound up nominating
Richard S. Arnold
to the seat in late 1979; he was confirmed in 1980.
Unconfirmed district court nominees
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I. Leo Glasser
During his presidency, Carter nominated 16 people for 15 different
federal district judgeships
to federal district courts who never were confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Like the appellate court nominations mentioned above, many of these nominees were blocked by Republicans. One, however, was not confirmed because he died while his nomination was pending.
Of the 15 federal district judgeship vacancies in question, three eventually were filled with different Carter nominees and 12 were filled by nominees of President
Ronald Reagan
. Of Carter's 16 failed district court nominees, four,
I. Leo Glasser
,
John E. Sprizzo
,
James Parker Jones
and
Ralph Wilson Nimmons, Jr.
, subsequently were nominated by Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush or Bill Clinton to federal district judgeships. Also, another of the 16,
Walter Meheula Heen
, was given a recess appointment to his district judgeship by Carter and as a result served as a federal judge for close to a year into the presidency of Reagan, who chose not to renominate and seek a full Senate vote on Heen.
The failed Carter district court nominees:
- United States District Court for the District of Maine
- United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- Philip Weinberg
(nominated September 17, 1980; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee (and failed Carter nominee)
I. Leo Glasser
)
[6]
- I. Leo Glasser
(nominated September 17, 1980; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee
Joseph M. McLaughlin
; Glasser later was appointed by Reagan to a different seat on the Eastern District of New York)
[6]
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- John E. Sprizzo
(nominated June 2, 1980; judgeship later filled by Sprizzo himself, after President Reagan renominated him the following year)
[7]
- United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- James Parker Jones
(nominated on May 16, 1979; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee
Jackson L. Kiser
; Jones later was nominated and confirmed to a different seat on the Western District of Virginia by President Clinton)
[11]
- United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
- United States District Court for the District of Hawaii
- Walter Meheula Heen
(nominated February 29, 1980, and renominated January 8, 1981; in the interim, Carter gave Heen a recess appointment to the District of Hawaii, and Heen served as a judge for close to one year of Reagan's presidency; the Senate never acted on Carter's nominations of Heen and Reagan never renominated him to the District of Hawaii; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee
Harold Michael Fong
)
[13]
[14]
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- Ralph Wilson Nimmons, Jr.
(nominated on September 17, 1980; judgeship later filled by Reagan appointee
John H. Moore II
; Nimmons later was nominated and confirmed to a different seat on the Middle District of Florida by President George H. W. Bush)
[16]
- United States District Court for the District of Columbia
See also
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References
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Supreme Court candidates
and nomination results
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All presidential
judicial appointments
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Appointment controversies
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