New Fourth Circuit Judge Nominated From Virginia
President Bush has nominated E. Duncan Getchell, Jr., of Virginia, to replace H. Emory Widener, Jr. on the Fourth Circuit. Judge Widener retired recently. Getchell is a partner with McGuire Woods in Richmond and chair of the firm's appellate practice group (his firm bio is here). He's a Duke Law graduate (class of 1974). He's a member of the American Law Institute and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers (and, as opponents surely will point out, he's a member of the Federalist Society).
Senator Webb (D, Va.) has already issued a press release condemning this nomination.
Senator Webb (D, Va.) has already issued a press release condemning this nomination.
2 Comments:
Absurd...filling those two seats with partners at law firms. Unbelievable. With a wealth of talent in the circuit and with numerous prospective candidates possessing actual experience on the bench (and appellate experience as well), Bush decided to select two practitioners (not to mention the fact that they are both white males in a circuit struggling to maintain legitimacy in the face of criticism on the grounds of a total absence of diversity).
For the record: (1) President Bush has nominated existing judges to 4th Circuit seats (Conrad, Boyle); (2) President Clinton's 4th Circuit appointees are predominantly former law firm partners (Michael, King, and Gregory), and law firm partners rank among some of his most influential appointees (e.g., D.C. Circuit's David Tatel); (3) Bush's nominees with judicial experience have by and large been attacked by his opponents who use their judicial records against them (e.g., Owen, Pickering, Boyle, Brown); (4) Clinton's 4th Circuit appointees are overwhelmingly white (4-1) and male (4-1), and even including his two unsuccessful nominees in NC, they were still predominantly white and male; (5) both minorities now on the Fourth Circuit were appointed by Bush, and a third black nominee was rejected by Democrats; and (6) some of the most vilified Bush judicial nominations have been women and minorities (Estrada, Owen, Brown).
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