Texans Concerned with the Nation's Courts to Meet with White House about the Judicial Vacancy Crisis in Texas
Washington, DC, May 3, 2012 – Four Texas advocates will travel to Washington on Monday, May 7, to meet with White House officials about the vacancy crisis in America’s federal courts, including the three vacancies in Texas. Nearly one out of every ten federal judgeships remains vacant, and more than 250 million Americans live in a community with a courtroom vacancy.
Those traveling to Washington are:
- Matt Glazer, Executive Director, Progress Texas
- Chris Elliott, Shareholder at Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody in Austin and Chapter Leader, American Constitution Society, Austin
- Celeste Villarreal, Associate Judge, City of Austin
- Jeanne Cezanne “Cezy” Collins, President, National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations and Partner, Kemp Smith, El Paso
They will join 150 advocates from 27 states in a day of discussions with White House staff. A deal between Senate Republicans and Democrats to allow judicial nominations to proceed in the Senate expires May 7th. Advocates are urging the Senate to hold final up-or-down votes on all pending nominees and urge the White House to continue nominating judges until all the vacancies in Texas are filled.
After the White House meeting, advocates will visit the offices of key senators, including Senators Hutchison and Cornyn, to urge them to work to end the delays that have plagued the Senate confirmation process since the beginning of the Obama presidency.
Despite partisan delays, the overwhelming majority of Obama’s nominees have garnered tremendous bipartisan support when allowed a confirmation vote, such as Judges Guaderrama and Costa, who were confirmed with little opposition.
The Texas advocates hope their conversations in Washington will help national leaders understand how harmful the confirmation delays have been to Texans who are seeking justice in the nation’s courts.
###
