U.S. court nominee
withdrawsPresident Bush's pick cites
his inability to get a hearing
before a key Senate committee
Honolulu attorney Frederick "Fritz" Rohlfing III has withdrawn as a candidate for U.S. District Court judge in Hawaii, saying he could not get a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Rohlfing's nomination became stalled in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee after an American Bar Association evaluation rated him "not qualified" to serve as federal judge.
President Bush nominated Rohlfing in January 2002 to fill a temporary fourth slot on the Hawaii bench that is due to expire in October unless made permanent by legislation.
Rohlfing, 47, a partner in the law firm of Rohlfing & Stone, is the former owner of Aloha Sports Inc., producer of the Aloha and Oahu football bowl games in past years. He is the son of former Republican state Sen. Fred Rohlfing.
"Regrettably, despite my best efforts and those of many others, I have been denied the opportunity to present my qualifications at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee," Rohlfing said in a May 2 letter to Bush. "Accordingly, it is now time for me to return my full attention to my trial practice. I therefore request that you withdraw my nomination."
Rohlfing told the president that the nomination was "the greatest professional honor that I have ever received."
He was nominated to fill the vacancy left four years ago when Judge Alan Kay moved to senior judge status. Nearly a year ago, Chief U.S. District Judge David Ezra, the head of the federal bench here, warned that a crisis was developing because of the empty seat and a backlog of cases.
Although the American Bar Association did not approve the nomination, the Hawaii Bar Association rated Rohlfing as qualified to serve.
The ABA committee released its evaluation on Rohlfing in 2003. The ABA rates judicial nominees as "well qualified," "qualified" or "not qualified." Of Bush's 220 nominees to the federal bench, others have been rated "not qualified," but Rohlfing is the only one to receive a unanimous rating of "not qualified" by the ABA's 15-member Standing Committee on the Judiciary.
The committee considers professional competence, integrity and judicial temperament in its evaluations. Factors are said to include intellectual capacity, judgment, writing and analytical ability, legal knowledge, experience, character, and general reputation -- not political or ideological considerations.
The factors leading to Rohlfing's negative rating have not been made public, but they would likely have come out at a Senate confirmation hearing, which was never scheduled. The ABA generally is called upon to disclose investigative findings leading to a negative evaluation to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Rohlfing released his letter of withdrawal to Bush, but declined to comment.
He wrote: "I am also profoundly grateful for the strong support received for my confirmation from the Hawaii State Bar Association, several Hawaii legal associations, friends in organized labor, concerned citizens and community leaders, and a multitude of Hawaii lawyers and judges." He also thanked Hawaii's congressional delegation.
Rohlfing has been in private practice in Honolulu for 21 years, since April 1997 in partnership with Lorrie Lee Stone. He has specialized in civil litigation and has argued cases in both state and federal court.