ABA seeks to reduce bipartisan fight on judges

NEW YORK - The American Bar Association is calling on the next president and Senate to reduce partisan tensions in federal judicial nominations.

The incoming president of the lawyers' group, H. Thomas Wells Jr. of Birmingham, Ala., said yesterday that he also is enlisting the help of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to study threats to fair and impartial state courts.

At the federal level, the White House should create a commission of Democrats and Republicans to recommend nominees for federal appeals courts and the two senators from each state should establish similar panels to evaluate and recommend federal trial judges, the ABA says in a resolution inspired by Wells. The proposal is expected to be adopted at the group's annual meeting.

The bipartisan panels would help "avoid the times when there have been really rancorous debates in the confirmation process," Wells said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Nominations from Florida and other states that now use such commissions, Wells said, "almost never have bitter confirmation fights."

Wells said that by acting ahead of this year's election, the ABA, often criticized by Republicans for tilting toward the Democrats, will avoid being seen as favoring one party. He said he plans to write to Democrat Barack Obama, Republican John McCain, and members of the Senate to urge them to adopt the commission approach.

In recent years, individual senators in both parties have blocked judicial nominees from a vote by the full Senate. Democrats filibustered several of President Bush's nominees when they controlled the Senate during his first term.

Bush also has failed to consult senators on some of his choices. In one instance, his nominee for an appeals court slot from Virginia was not among the recommendations of the state's senators.

The nomination has since been withdrawn.