A vote on Judge Hamilton’s confirmation is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 17.
Judge Hamilton’s nomination has the strong support of both his home-state Senators, including his Republican home-state Senator, Richard Lugar, the most senior Republican in the Senate. Senator Lugar has called Judge Hamilton “an exceptionally talented jurist” who appreciates that it is “the role of the federal judiciary faithfully to interpret and apply our laws, rather than seeking to impose their own policy views.”
Geoffrey Slaughter, President of the Indiana Federalist Society, has also endorsed Judge Hamilton’s nomination, stating that “I regard Judge Hamilton as an excellent jurist with a first-rate intellect. He is unfailingly polite to lawyers. He asks tough questions to both sides, and he is very smart. His judicial philosophy is left of center, but well within the mainstream, between the 30-yard lines.”
Nonetheless, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) has promised to filibuster a vote on Judge Hamilton’s confirmation, and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, recently sent a letter to his Senate colleagues supporting such obstructionism. (The Constitutional Accountability Center has posted a point-by-point refutation of Sessions’ stated reasons for opposing Hamilton, which can be found at http://theusconstitution.org/
Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss have been staunch opponents of filibustering judicial nominees. In a joint op-ed for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2005, Isakson and Chambliss wrote, “Every judge nominated by this president or any president deserves an up-or-down vote. It's the responsibility of the Senate. The Constitution requires it.”
Procedural tactics such as filibusters should not be used to prevent the confirmation of mainstream, well-qualified judges.