Democratic Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet took to the Senate floor Thursday to push for the confirmation of Denver lawyer William Martinez, who was nominated for a federal judgeship in February.
Udall and Bennet blamed politics for the delay in his confirmation to the U.S. District Court bench in Denver.
“The Martinez nomination, like so many others, has gotten stuck — because of the obstructionist tactics of a few, so this man, with a breadth of public and private sector legal experience that makes him more than qualified to serve on the federal bench, is being held up month after month,” Bennet said. “Like my senior senator (Udall), I’m frustrated with the secret delays in this body. The purposeless shelving of nominations such as this one and even of important legislation, affects real lives and poisons the atmosphere in the Senate.”
Udall and Bennet wanted to go forward with a unanimous consent request — or a full Senate floor vote and debate on Martinez’s confirmation Thursday. But Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said he wouldn’t agree to that.
“Things don’t always go as smooth as you would like,” Sessions said, adding that President Barack Obama’s nominees have moved faster to confirmation than the previous administration’s nominees.
“The president has been a bit slow in making his nominations, but they don’t have to be rushed,” Sessions said. “The republic does not collapse if there is a vacancy for a reasonable period of time.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could pursue a cloture vote to confirm Martinez but might not get the 60 votes he needs. A cloture vote could take months of debate and would push back other pressing legislative matters.
Despite the delays, Udall and Bennet don’t think Martinez’s confirmation is in jeopardy.
There are five active judges working on the federal bench in Denver, but two vacancies have existed for two years.
The Judicial Conference of the United States has recommended a third position be created to deal with the amount of civil and criminal cases generated in the district.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
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