The Chief Justice on the President's State of the Union Address

Roberts Asks Senate to Confirm Judges
The New York Times reports: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. called on President Obama and the Senate on Friday to solve what he called “the persistent problem of judicial vacancies.” The plea, in the chief justice’s annual year-end report on the federal judiciary, was an echo of one from his predecessor, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who made front-page news on New Year’s Day in 1998 by criticizing the Senate for failing to move more quickly on President Bill Clinton’

Blaming both parties, Chief Justice Roberts decries judicial vacancies
Chief Justice John Roberts is blaming both parties for the political stalemate that's prevented dozens of federal judicial nominees from filling their seats at the bench.  In his annual State of the Judiciary report, Roberts said the partisan bickering has led to "acute difficulties" in "critically overworked districts." He urged policymakers to come up with a long-term solution to the perennial problem. "Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to defending the ...

Chief Justice Says 'Urgent' Need for Senate Action on Judicial Nominees
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts says there's an "urgent need" for the political parties to put aside their differences and quickly confirm more of President Obama nominees to the federal judiciary. "Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to defending the blocking of Judicial Nominations depending on their changing political fortunes," Roberts said in a year-end report released on New Year's Eve. "This has created acute difficulties for some judiciary dist...

Chief justice urges progress naming judges (AP)
WASHINGTON – Republicans and Democrats must find a long-term solution to selecting Federal Judges, Chief Justice John Roberts says, while blaming both sides for the political gridlock of Judicial Nominations in the Senate. "Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to defending the blocking of judicial nominations, depending on their changing political fortunes," Roberts said Friday in his year-end report. "This has created acute difficulties for some judicia...

Chief justice urges progress naming judges
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats must find a long-term solution to selecting Federal Judges, Chief Justice John Roberts says, while blaming both sides for the political gridlock of Judicial Nominations in the Senate. “Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to defending the blocking of judicial nominations, depending on their changing political fortunes,” Roberts said Friday in his year-end report. “This has created acute difficul...

Chief Justice Roberts urges end of bickering over judicial nominees
WASHINGTON — There is an "urgent need" for Senate Democrats and Republicans to put aside their bickering and fill federal judicial vacancies, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote Friday in his annual State of the Judiciary report. It was his first comment about the partisan gridlock on judges that affects President Obama's nominees. Roberts noted that Democratic and Republican presidents have been frustrated by the "persistent problem" of senators from the opposing party blocking action on n...

Chief justice urges progress naming judges
FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010 file picture, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts speaks during a lecture series at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. The Supreme Court will join Congress and the president next year in cutting costs to reduce the federal Deficit, Chief Justice John Roberts said Friday, Dec. 31, 2010 in his year-end report. Republicans and Democrats must find a long-term solution to selecting Federal Judges, Chief Justice John Roberts says, while blaming both side...

Chief justice urges progress naming judges
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats must find a long-term solution to selecting Federal Judges, Chief Justice John Roberts says, while blaming both sides for the political gridlock of Judicial Nominations in the Senate. "Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to defending the blocking of judicial nominations, depending on their changing political fortunes," Roberts said Friday in his year-end report. "This has created acute difficulties for some judicial...

Chief Justice John Roberts Urges Progress Naming Judges, Takes Aim At Gridlock Obstructing Process
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats must find a long-term solution to selecting Federal Judges, Chief Justice John Roberts says, while blaming both sides for the political gridlock of Judicial Nominations in the Senate. "Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to defending the blocking of judicial nominations, depending on their changing political fortunes," Roberts said Friday in his year-end report. "This has created acute difficulties for some judicia...

Chief Justice Roberts to parties: Quit bickering, fill judicial vacancies
Stumble This! Republicans and Democrats must find a long-term solution to selecting Federal Judges, Chief Justice John Roberts says, while blaming both sides for the political gridlock of Judicial Nominations in the Senate. "Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to defending the blocking of judicial nominations, depending on their changing political fortunes," Roberts said Friday in his year-end report. "This has created acute difficulties for some judicial dist...

Chief Justice Roberts, a Bush appointee, urges approval of more Obama nominees
Today Chief Justice John Roberts, who was nominated and confirmed under the Bush Administration, urged the Senate to allow for confirmation of more judicial nominees.  Both Democrats and Republicans have used their Filibuster power over the previous decade to keep judicial nominees from being confirmed, though liberals claim that Republicans have taken the practice to a whole new level with President Obama.  In his statement, Chief Justice Roberts argues that the entire judicial system...

Chief Justice Roberts Calls for End to Senate Obstruction of Judges
Nearly one in nine federal Judgeships are currently vacant, a vacancy rate that is leaving many courts barely able to function. Indeed, the problem has become so severe that Republican Chief Justice John Roberts used his annual year-end report on the federal judiciary to call upon the Senate to end this logjam: Over many years, however, a persistent problem has developed in the process of filling judicial vacancies. Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to defe...

Chief Justice Roberts calls for judicial confirmations
SCOTUS Chief Justice Roberts raised some eyebrows in The Village with his annual report that criticized the slow pace of judicial confirmations, noting only 62 out of 96 vacancies on the federal bench have been filled in the last two years. “There remains,” the chief justice wrote, “an urgent need for the political branches to find a long-term solution to this recurring problem.” Roberts' critique echoes a similar complaint made by former Chief Justice Rehnquist during the Clinton

Chief justice wants vacancies filled
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts says he wants Senate Republicans and Democrats to quickly fill the 94 vacancies in the federal judiciary. Roberts released his annual State of the Judiciary report Friday and said there is an "urgent" need for Senate Democrats and Republicans to put aside partisan bickering, The Washington Post reported. Roberts noted presidents from both parties have been frustrated by the "persistent problem" of senators from the opposing party blo...

John Roberts: Stop Bickering, Confirm Federal Judges
Even John Roberts thinks the Republicans should stop blocking the approval of Federal Judges. He pretends it's a Bipartisan problem -- but it isn't: There is an "urgent need" for Senate Democrats and Republicans to put aside their bickering and fill federal judicial vacancies, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote Friday in his annual State of the Judiciary report. It was his first comment about the partisan gridlock on judges that affects President Obama's nominees. But Roberts noted that D...

Chief Justice Decries Partisan Brawling
(NewsCore) - Chief Justice John Roberts decried the partisan warfare that has slowed the appointment of Federal Judges to a crawl, writing in his year-end report Friday that political gamesmanship on Capitol Hill has left some courts burdened with "extraordinary caseloads." "Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to defending the blocking of Judicial Nominations, depending on their changing political fortunes," the chief justice wrote. He called on Congress and th...

Chief Justice John Roberts issues yearly report on the state of the Judiciary
ABC News’ Ariane de Vogue reports: In his yearly report on the state of the Judiciary released at 6 pm on New Years Eve, Chief Justice John Roberts expresses concern that budgetary constraints due to the economic down turn and the "persistent problem" of judicial vacancies are hampering the work of the Judicial Conference to plan for the future. The Conference--the federal judiciary's policy-making body-- is made up of all the chief  judges of the Federal Court of appeal...

Chief Justice Roberts Blasts Lawmakers On Judicial Nominations
Citing the economic downturn as one of two "immediate obstacles" to improving the performance of the federal judiciary, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts also focuses part of his annual year-end report on the other problem he sees hampering the judicial branch: political intransigence in confirming Federal Judges. Roberts says the nomination and confirmation of federal judges has become a persistent problem. "Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to...

N.D. senator spurs major gains for American Indians
WASHINGTON — By any measure, 2010 was a banner year on Capitol Hill for American Indians. A huge factor was the impending Retirement of a lone senator — North Dakota’s Byron Dorgan. After years of trying, Congress, spurred by Dorgan, passed several landmark bills for Indians, including laws overhauling tribal Health Care and Law Enforcement and settling a 15-year Legal Battle over lost Royalties for mismanaged Indian lands. Congress continued parceling out $2.5 billion in econ...

Roberts: Stop Blocking Judicial Nominees
Like this Story? Share it: History, traditions and key cases, plus what it takes to get on the bench. (AP) WASHINGTON - Republicans and Democrats must find a long-term solution to selecting Federal Judges, Chief Justice John Roberts says, while blaming both sides for the political blockage of Judicial Nominations in the Senate. There are more than 90 judicial vacancies in U.S. district and appellate courts. But only 60 nominees have been confirmed by the Senate for U.S. appellate and district c...

Chief Justice Decries Brawling Over Judicial Nominees
WASHINGTON—Chief Justice John Roberts decried the partisan warfare that has slowed the appointment of Federal Judges to a crawl, writing in his year-end report Friday that political gamesmanship on Capitol Hill has left some courts burdened with "extraordinary caseloads." "Each political party has found it easy to turn on a dime from decrying to defending the blocking of Judicial Nominations, depending on their changing political fortunes," the chief justice wrote. He called on Congress an...

Chief Justice Decries Brawling Over Judicial Nominees...
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2011: Cant We All Just Get Along?
President Obama and Chief Justice Roberts are calling for Bipartisanship in the New Year....

StupidiNews, New Year's Weekend Edition!
Joe Miller has resolved to accept Sen. Lisa Murkowski's win as Alaska senator...for now. A University of Cincinnati Student resolved to go through Airport Security, stripped to his underwear, and had the Fourth Amendment written on his chest. Chief Justice John Roberts wants Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to resolve to fill dozens of vacant Federal Judge appointments. Estonia resolves to do the best it can joining the countries using the euro today. Japan resolves to warn parents not to...

Norton asks Obama to mention D.C. voting rights in State of the Union address
The District may face an uphill fight to secure Voting Rights in the House this Congress, but D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) is hoping to win a rhetorical victory next month -- a mention of the issue in President Obama's State of the Union address. Norton wrote a letter to Obama on Thursday asking him to "reiterate your support for Voting Rights and greater Democracy for the citizens who live in the nation's capital, in keeping with your co-sponsorship of the bill when you were in the Senat...