WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) was joined by House and Senate colleagues and civil rights organizations to demand that Republican Senate Leaders schedule Judge Richard A. Paez for confirmation votes on his nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  The immediate call to action comes while other nominees are scheduled to the Senate floor for a vote, and Judge Paez is purposely left behind.

"It makes absolutely no sense that a very qualified person like Judge Paez has been waiting for nearly four years for his nomination to come before the Senate while other preferred nominees are scheduled for a vote in just a few months," said Roybal-Allard.  "This is a blatant display of partisanship by the Senate majority.  It is unacceptable and I will not stand by silently and allow him to be unfairly treated.  All we are asking for is that his nomination be allowed to come before the Senate for an up or down vote."

Judge Paez was originally nominated in January 1996 and has been re-nominated in the 105th and 106th Congress.  He was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 27, 1999.  Since then, members of the CHC have expressed their support for Judge Paez’ confirmation to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by writing a letter to Senator Lott urging him to schedule Judge Paez for a vote.

"Since Republicans became the majority in the Senate, we continue to confirm the lowest number of judicial confirmations since 1980.  For example, in 1992 there were 66 confirmations and in 1996 we had only 17,"said Roybal-Allard.

"Judge Paez has the strong judicial and academic qualifications needed for this position, he is more than capable of performing the duties of the job," said Roybal-Allard.  "Holding back his nomination is not only unfair to judge Paez, it is an erosion of justice.

"In the ninth circuit, which includes my district and all of California, we are particularly impacted by the irresponsibility of the Republican leadership," added Roybal-Allard.  Without federal judges, cases are severely backlogged and up to 750 cases a year are denied their day in court."

Judge Paez currently serves in the U.S. Central District Court of California.  He is the first Mexican-American to hold that position, and is recognized for his commitment to the rule of law, and for his distinguished public service career as a state and Federal judge.