Judge Andre Davis confirmed for 4th Circuit Court of Appeals

Back in July '08, I blogged about a case before Judge Davis, then at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Re-nominated back in April for elevation to the 4th Circuit, he was confirmed by the Senate, 72-16, on the 9th.

There are 15 positions on the 4th Circuit, which comprises the federal district courts of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and North and South Carolina; but only 11 positions are filled. While the Senate has notoriously stalled on 4th Circuit nominees for the past dozen years -- both Clinton's and G.W. Bush's nominees -- defendants have been waiting and waiting for their appeals to be decided, and victims have been waiting and waiting to see justice done in their cases. Judge Davis, for example, was originally nominated by Clinton 9 years ago, but the nomination expired with no action by the Senate. One editorial I found blamed G.W. Bush's "ineffective" politics for his numerous unsuccessful attempts at appointments.

Likely recognizing both the problem of long-delayed decisions in the 4th Circuit and seeing an opportunity to nudge the court a little toward the left, President Obama has quickly nominated some candidates for 3 of those last 4 seats: Albert Diaz of North Carolina, Barbara Milano Keenan of Virginia, and James Wynn of North Carolina. Here's to hoping that they're all seated and working soon.