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Editorial - June 2003 |
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Finally, an appeals court judge from N.C. |
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Published June 27, 2003 |
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The cynical view of Congress as a den of obstructionist partisan politicians where highly paid office-holders forget their purpose was dealt a blow this week. North Carolina will finally drop its long-standing policy of opposing any nomination from a president of the opposite party and finally get a judge on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. President Bush’s nomination of Raleigh lawyer Allyson Duncan received mutual support from both Democratic Sen. John Edwards and Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. The nomination was also supported by other members of the Senate Judiciary. Duncan will be the first judge from North Carolina to have a seat on the 4th Circuit since the Late Sam Ervin III held a seat in 1980. It’s about time. Duncan, a Republican, will also be the first black woman to serve on the 4th Circuit. A former law professor at N.C. Central University who served in the 1990s on the state Court of Appeals, Duncan is a graduate of Duke Law School. She is also popular enough in the North Carolina legal community to be named the current president of the N.C. Bar Association. For some strange reason, the state of North Carolina had a tradition of allowing its senators to block a federal judgeship nomination when the appointing president was from a different party. Sen. John Edwards, and U. S. Sen. Jesse Helms, Dole’s Republican predecessor, both utilized that childish option in the past. The result of that folly was that North Carolina was the only state in the nation without a judge on an appellate court. Being the largest state in that circuit, made up of five Southeastern states, North Carolina was very noticeably lacking representation on the 15-judge appeals court panel. Edwards admitted as much in remarks made during the judiciary committee’s meeting, saying Duncan will break a logjam which has damaged the state for years. Dole has publicly stated that a single senator should not be allowed to derail a judicial nomination. Duncan must still be confirmed by the full Senate, but top officials say she enjoys bipartisan support and will not face opposition.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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