U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan wants to get another federal judge appointed from North Carolina.
The problem: It's not entirely up to her.
North Carolina currently has only one judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers the Carolinas, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
As former Domester David Ingram has reported, some senators think the state should get as many as three of the four vacant seats.
Over the past 15 years, partisan fighting between the state's senators has prevented that. Under longstanding tradition, the minority senator can foil a nomination by withholding a permission form known as a "blue slip."
In a letter to the media today, Hagan said she wants to move beyond the partisanship, but that will depend on whether Sen. Richard Burr or other Republicans in the area covered by the Fourth Circuit agree.
Dave Hoffman, a spokesman for Hagan, said she'll do "everything in her power" to prevent that.
"Senator Hagan is committed to working with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make sure that we have judges who can get appointed," he said.
After the jump, Hagan's letter.
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As you know, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit covers five states – North Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia – and includes fifteen authorized judgeships. North Carolina, which has the largest and fastest-growing population of these five states (more than 9.2 million residents, or nearly 32 percent of those served by the 4th Circuit) is represented by only one judge on the court. South Carolina and Virginia have three judges each, while Maryland and West Virginia, the circuit’s smallest state with a population of just more than 1.8 million residents, have two judges each.
Historically, North Carolina has been underrepresented on this bench. In the entire history of the 4th Circuit, dating back to its establishment in 1801, North Carolina has had only six judges on the court. West Virginia, meanwhile, has had eight. I believe it is long past time to correct this inequity.
One of the most significant recent challenges to North Carolina’s achieving greater representation on the court was the bitterness and partisan animosity with which the White House and our state’s former United States Senators approached the nomination process. This resulted in the inability of not one, but three Presidents to fill the seat of Judge J. Dickson Phillips after he took senior status and moved into semi-retirement in 1994. Since then, North Carolina’s population has grown by nearly 24 percent. Yet during that time, we have been represented on the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit by only one judge.
For 15 years, North Carolina’s interests have taken a backseat to partisan bickering and obstructionism on both sides of the aisle. In November, the people of North Carolina elected me to come to Washington and put their interests first. As Senator Burr and I proceed with the recommendation of candidates to President Obama for the vacancies that currently exist on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, it is my goal to put forth candidates who are not only highly-qualified for this position, but of whom all North Carolinians, Democrat and Republican, will be proud.
I commit to you that filling the vacancies on the 4th Circuit, and giving North Carolina the representation it deserves, will be a key priority of mine over the next six years. I look forward to updating you on the process along the way, and as always, please feel free to contact my press office with any questions you might have.
Sincerely,
Kay Hagan
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