WASHINGTON — The American Bar Association has secretly declared a significant number of President Barack Obama’s potential judicial nominees “not qualified,” slowing White House efforts to fill vacant judgeships — and nearly all of the prospects given poor ratings were women or members of an ethnic minority group, according to interviews.
The White House has chosen not to nominate any person the bar association deems unqualified, so the negative ratings have not been made public. But the association’s judicial vetting committee has opposed 14 of the roughly 185 potential nominees that the administration asked it to evaluate, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The rejection rate is more than 3 1/2 times as high as it was under the previous two presidencies, documents and interviews show.
