ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society

As ACSBlog reported yesterday, the White House will not renominate four controversial attorneys who had previously been tapped for the federal appellate bench.  Early reports suggested that all four nominees asked the President to withdraw their names from consideration.  The AP is now reporting, however, that one nominee, Federal District Judge and former Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) aide Terrence Boyle, made no such request.  The decision not to renominate Judge Boyle came from the White House.

President Bush has also nominated former Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Southwick, instead of controversial former nominee Michael Wallace, to sit on the Fifth Circuit.  Unlike Wallace, who received a unanimous unqualified rating from the ABA in light of accusations of racial insensitivity, Judge Southwick has not yet been fully vetted by independent organizations, so it is unclear whether his nomination will spark controversy similar to that surrounding Wallace.

President Bush also plans to nominate recently confirmed Federal District Judge Noel Hillman to the Third Circuit seat vacated by Justice Samuel Alito.  Judge Hillman is a former federal prosecutor who oversaw the case against disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramhoff.

On the Ninth Circuit, the President resubmitted the nomination of Idaho state judge N. Randy Smith.  Judge Smith's nomination has been blocked by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), who notes that the seat has previously been held by nominees from California.  Curt Levey, executive director of the conservative Committee for Justice, which advises the President on judicial nominations, publicly speculated that the White House may eventually agree to nominate a Californian to one of the two vacant Ninth Circuit seats.