Panel OKs isle lawyer
for federal judgeship

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Associated Press

WASHINGTON >> A Senate committee cleared and sent to the full Senate yesterday the nomination of a Hawaii lawyer for the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The Judiciary Committee approved Richard Clifton's nomination unanimously.

If confirmed by the Senate, he would become only the second person from Hawaii to sit on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which handles appeals from federal trial courts in California, Oregon, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii and Washington state.

Clifton, who has served as volunteer attorney for the Hawaii Republican Party, told senators he would follow the lead of the San Francisco-based court, which is considered among the most liberal of the appeals courts.

It was not immediately known when the Senate would vote on Clifton's nomination.

The panel scheduled a vote for next week on another appeals court nominee.

President Bush and the GOP have complained that the Democrats have not acted quickly enough on his nominees.

The Senate has confirmed 56 judges, including nine of the president's first 30 appeals court nominees.

Bush has nominated more than 100 people for judicial vacancies.

The Judiciary Committee chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the committee will vote next week on the nomination of D. Brooks Smith, a U.S. District Court judge in Pennsylvania, for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A coalition of feminist, environmental, civil rights and other special-interest groups have protested Smith's nomination. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the Judiciary Committee's senior Republican, says Smith is an outstanding judge, and accused the groups aligned against him of smearing his name for political reasons.

If confirmed, he would serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, which covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands.