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Legal Daily News Feature

www.lawcrossing.com

10/10/11

The recent appointment of U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo is a good start, as the

group pointed out at a recent press conference, but also said the Senate has much more to do.

Currently, in Texas, there are seven federal judicial vacancies. One is on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals; the others on U.S. district trial courts.

Per the group, unfilled judicial positions lead to “unmanageable workloads for presiding judges, lengthy delays and, ultimately, in some districts, judicial emergencies, as defined by Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts”, per the article.

Amazingly, across the nation, almost 90 vacancies exist. Per the article, over 30 of those vacancies have resulted in judicial emergencies, per Margaret Justus, spokeswoman for the legal group.

Over fifty judicial nominations are pending in the Senate, making the high vacancy rate especially frustrating. Four of those are in Texas. While the vacancies slow the legal process down, small-business owners, families and individuals suffer, as their cases become mired in expensive, lengthy court processes, which are exacerbated by lack of judges.

Brian Serr, a professor at Baylor Law School, was quoted as saying in the article the U.S. justice system is “nothing more than an idea” without enough justices.

Well said. It seems like a no brainer that without judges, the system can’t run. The end. Unfortunately, as with many other issues, the obvious has becomes hopelessly lost in a labyrinth of political minutiae. Too, the fact that a group, mind you, not just an attorney, but a group of legal professionals has come together to point out the obvious, makes one wonder how their time could be better spent – perhaps on assisting clients, for example.

Per the article, the finger of blame tends to point to congressional partisanship for delays. In addition, per Serr, often the public has a misconception that all cases have ideological consequences, across the board, which simply isn’t true. Decision made at the circuit and district levels, for example, have a narrower focus. Misinformation, lack of knowledge and communication, more than anything, are to blame, along with a good healthy dose of politics.

Janet Neuenschwander of San Antonio, who co-chairs the public affairs committee of the National Council of Jewish Women was quoted as saying in the article: “A small minority of senators shouldn’t be able to prevent an entire branch from functioning.”

Again, well said. For what is justice delayed, if not justice denied.

Where Have All the Judges Gone? By Rebecca E. Neely

In recent days, according to the October 4th texastribune.com article, “Texas Legal Group Urges More Judicial Appointments”, a

nonpartisan group of Texas lawyers, law professors and other legal advocates urged the U.S. Senate to more quickly fill judicial

vacancies, vacancies that are grinding the wheels of justice to a halt both in Texas, and across the nation.