For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 29, 2003

Statement by the President

I commend the Senate for confirming Jeffrey Sutton to be a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Mr. Sutton is a man of great integrity, intellect, and experience, and has bipartisan support. He has served the people of Ohio with distinction, including as the state's Solicitor. He graduated first in his class from Ohio State University College of Law. He is known as one of the premier appellate lawyers in America, having argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, and state and federal appeals courts. He will be an outstanding Court of Appeals judge and will serve the American people well.

All judicial nominees should receive a timely up-or-down vote in the Senate. Mr. Sutton was nominated on May 9, 2001, and waited more than 23 months for this vote. Five of the 11 nominees I submitted to the Senate on May 9, 2001, still have not received votes. Some in the Senate are now engaging in unprecedented filibusters to prevent votes on two outstanding circuit nominees I submitted on May 9, 2001, Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen.

The delays in the Senate confirmation process deter good people from seeking to serve on the bench and create a vacancy crisis in the federal courts that harms the American people. As I have said before, I call on the Senate to perform its Constitutional responsibility to hold timely up-or-down votes on all judicial nominees, no matter who is President or which party controls the Senate.

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