With New Filibuster Reform, Senate Invokes Cloture on Nomination to D.C. Circuit Court of Federal Judge Norton Recommended for U.S. District Court
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's (D-DC) first recommendation, in 2010, to President Obama for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Robert Wilkins, today got one critical step closer to a promotion to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit Court). President Obama nominated him last year to be elevated from the district court to the D.C. Circuit Court, widely regarded as the second most powerful court in the United States. The Senate voted this afternoon to end debate on his nomination and proceed to a final vote for his confirmation. A majority vote was necessary to invoke cloture, rather than the 60-vote threshold prior to the Senate's November filibuster reform.
"I am pleased that Judge Wilkins is nearing his rightful place on our nation's second most powerful court," said Norton. "I was proud to recommend him for the district court here in 2010, and I was not surprised by his nomination by the president to the D.C. Circuit Court. His strong reputation among his peers in the profession, especially for a young man, is universally high. The Senate would do the nation a great service by confirming Judge Robert Wilkins."
Wilkins, named one of the "90 Greatest Lawyers of the Last 30 Years" by the Legal Times, has a combination of extensive civil and criminal trial experience in both private and public practice. He first developed a strong reputation as a trial lawyer at the Public Defender Service (PDS) here, where he tried more than 30 cases and became known as a top litigator in cutting-edge criminal and civil trials. He became a chief of Special Litigation and Programs at PDS, where he handled complex matters, including judicial investigations, impact litigation and appellate work. Prior to joining the district court, he was a partner at Venable LLP, where he worked on criminal and civil litigation and appeals. Wilkins graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, cum laude, with a degree in chemical engineering in 1986, and from Harvard Law School in 1989, where he served as Executive Editor and Comment Editor of one of its law journals. He later clerked for a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
In November, as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Judicial Nominations Working Group, Norton joined many of her CBC and Senate colleagues, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), at a press conference to celebrate the new filibuster rules. The break of the most extensive use of the filibuster in U.S. history is likely to be a turning point in the Obama presidency. It will enable the President Obama to have a genuine judicial legacy, necessary for a president to ensure that his achievements have a continuing life after he leaves office.
Wilkins was one of the three nominees last year to the D.C. Circuit Court who was filibustered by Senate Republicans prior to the rules reform, none on their merits. Rather, Republicans argued that they wanted to reduce the number of judges on the court (which has a Republican majority), though they never raised that concern when they insisted on filling the D.C. Circuit Court under President George W. Bush.
President Obama, like President Clinton, granted Norton senatorial courtesy to recommend federal district court judges and other federal law enforcement officials in the District. Wilkins was the first of eight Norton recommendations to President Obama for vacancies on the district court, all of whom were then nominated by the President and six confirmed by the Senate. All six currently serve on the district court. Two Norton recommendations are currently pending in the Senate.
Published: January 9, 2014