Appointment of Federal Judges

Senators Toomey and Casey got together to assure appointment of a full complement of federal judges in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.  Halleluiah!  We had vacancies for so long in the Middle District that we had been declared a judicial emergency.  Judge Matt Brann in Williamsport and Judge Malachy Mannion in Wilkes-Barre should do a fine, credible job and be hardworking employees for the American taxpayer.

Unfortunately there are still many vacancies to be filled

Earlier this month Senators Casey and Toomey came together to find highly qualified nominees to two long-vacant seats in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. This bipartisan effort is good news for Pennsylvanians who rely on a court system that has been hobbled by vacancies that the Senate has been too slow to fill. Our state’s federal district courts are still operating with six vacancies (with another two opening up soon), but this month’s announcement was an encouraging step forward.  I know one of those judges in the Eastern District, who is a highly regarded lawyer that deserves confirmation, Gerald McHugh.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is not well known, but it is second only to the Supreme Court in the scope of influence it has over American law and justice. Located in Washington, DC, it has the final word on scores of federal laws and regulations each year, touching on important issues including workers’ rights, women’s rights, environmental protection and the financial industry. Every president since Jimmy Carter has placed at least three nominees on the DC Circuit. Yet, Senate Republicans have allowed President Obama to place just one nominee on the court, leaving it with three of its eleven seats still sitting empty.  The Republicans of course are not the only ones to block nominees and the Democrats have played that game as well.  The DC Circuit is high profile because where it is located and the type of cases that are filed there.

In May, President Obama nominated three exceptionally qualified individuals to fill the court’s three vacancies. Each would bring an exceptional background to the nation’s second most influential court. For instance, one of the nominees, Cornelia “Nina” Pillard, is best known for writing the briefs that persuaded the Supreme Court to overturn the Virginia Military Institute’s male-only policy, opening the prestigious institution to women for the first time. She also worked with George W. Bush administration lawyers to successfully defend the Family and Medical Leave Act in the courts. And she commands enormous respect from across ideologies as the head of Georgetown’s Supreme Court Institute, which helps to prepare attorneys to argue in front of the Supreme Court, regardless of the side they are arguing. The Institute is so well-regarded that it assisted attorneys in every single case in front of the Supreme Court in its last term.

In spite of the high qualifications of Pillard and her two fellow nominees, and in spite of the clear need to fill vacancies on the DC Circuit, the Republican minority in the Senate threatened filibuster before the names were submitted. When President Bush was in office, the same Republicans were anxious to get their chosen favorites on the bench. Unfortunately the filling of judicial nominees has become a high level patronage game that both parties can play and play it they do, to the detriment of the people.

Senators from either party are entitled to vote against any nominees who they believe are unqualified.  However, use of the filibuster to prevent nominees from reaching a yes or no vote is highly irresponsible.  It is rare that the issue of federal judges has anything to do with the judges themselves and most often is about political battles between their parties and their leadership.  Republicans, including venerable John McCain of Arizona, have gone on record saying that Pillard, Millett and Wilkins deserve senatorial votes to get them on the DC Circuit Court.

Senator Toomey has yet to say if he will join a filibuster or allow votes on the DC Circuit nominees.  Hopefully Senator Toomey will extend his efforts of bipartisanship and help end the gridlock that is hurting the federal court system and therefore the administration of justice in the United States.

Rieders, Travis, Dohrmann, Mowrey, Humphrey & Waters

161 West Third Street
Williamsport, PA  17701
(570) 323-8711 (telephone)
(570) 323-4192 (facsimile)

Cliff Rieders, who practices law in Williamsport, is Past President of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and a member of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority.  None of the opinions expressed necessarily represent the views of these organizations.

Attorney Cliff Rieders

Cliff Rieders is a Nationally Board Certified Trial Lawyer practicing personal injury law. A large part of his practice involves multi-district litigation, including cases related to pharmaceuticals, vitamin supplements and medical devices. He is admitted in several state and federal courts, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States. Rieders is the past regional president of the Federal Bar Association and is a life member of the distinguished American Law Institute, which promulgates proposed rules adopted by many state courts. He is a past president of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, formerly Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. As a founder of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, he served on the Board for 15 years.

Not only has Rieders held many highly esteemed, leadership positions, he authored legislation related to the Patient Safety Authority and the Mcare Act, which governs medical and hospital liability actions in Pennsylvania. He authored texts upon which both practitioners and judges rely, including Pennsylvania Malpractice Laws and Forms, and Financial Responsibility Law Issues in Pennsylvania, the latter governing auto and truck collisions in Pennsylvania. In addition, he wrote several books on the practice of law in Pennsylvania regarding wrongful death and survivor actions, insurance bad faith, legal malpractice claims and worker rights, among others. Rieders also serves as a resource to practitioners as a regular speaker for Celesq, an arm of the world’s largest legal publisher, Thomson Reuters West Publishing.

As recognition of his wide range of contribution to his profession and of his dedication to protecting the rights of his clients, he received numerous awards, among them the George F. Douglas Amicus Curiae Award, the Milton D. Rosenberg Award, the B’nai B’rith Justice Award, and awards of recognition from the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers. [ Attorney Bio ]