ABA leader responds to White House denial of committee's role

In response to the White House stating that it does not plan on inviting the American Bar Association’s Standing Committtee on the Federal Judiciary to review federal court nominees, ABA President Linda A. Klein released the following statement”

“The American Bar Association has been notified that the White House does not intend to follow the long-standing practice of inviting the independent ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary to review the professional qualifications of prospective nominees to the lower federal courts on a pre-nomination basis. President Eisenhower first invited the ABA into the process in 1953. Since then, with the exception of the George W. Bush administration, the ABA has been asked by every administration to conduct pre-nomination evaluations of the professional qualification of prospective nominees. This helps to ensure the highest quality judiciary through an objective, nonpartisan review of the professional competence, integrity and judicial temperament of those who would have lifetime appointments to our federal courts.

“Over the years, the standing committee’s work has done much to instill public confidence and trust in the judiciary. The ABA, through its standing committee, will continue to provide its objective evaluations to the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of the judicial confirmation process.”