The Court Legacy The Historical Society for the United States District Court Vol. XIX, No. 3 for the Eastern District of Michigan ©20 12 December 20 12 The Best Man for the Job: Nancy Garlock Edmunds A History of the Nomination George H . W. Bush (Republican) was the first sitting Vice President and Appointment Process of to be elected to the Presidency in Women to the Bench of the 152 years. 1 He continued Reagan’s United States District Court for approach to the judicial nomination process, including the rigorous the Eastern District of Michigan pre-screening of District Court nominees. Nancy Garlock Edmunds By Susan H. Patton (Republican) was nominated by [Ed. Note: This is the second of two articles. The article President Bush on September 11, 1991, to a seat vacated covering the confirmation process for Judges Cornelia G. by Richard F. Suhrheinrich when he was appointed to the Kennedy, Patricia J. Boyle, Anna Diggs Taylor and Barbara Sixth Circuit. 2 Edmunds was confirmed by the Senate on K. Hackett appeared in the October 2012 issue o f The Court February 6, 1992, and received her commission on Legacy. The title of the article is a reference to President February 10, 1992. At that time, there were 82 women Richard M. Nixon’s statement in 1971 – a year after he Article III judges on the federal bench. 3 nominated Judge Kennedy to this Court – upon hearing of the retirement of Supreme Court Justices Black and Harlan: Edmunds’ confirmation was a refreshing pause from the “I promise to appoint the best man for the job.”] gridlock in the Senate created by partisan politics following the failed Bork nomination. Edmunds’ Senate The nominating process for federal district judgeships has changed dramatically over time. These articles are about confirmation hearings started on January 30, 1992. Both the history and evolution of the judicial selection process of Michigan’s Democratic Senators, Riegle and Levin, for Article III judges, as applied to the eight women who were in attendance, as were two of Michigan’s have served on the bench of the Eastern District of Michigan. Congressmen, William Broomfield (Republican) and Bob The articles are intended to show the evolutionary changes Carr (Democrat). Riegle began the statement in support of to the nomination process from the time of Presidents Edmunds with the following observation: “I think the fact Nixon through Clinton, between whose terms the eight that we all appear together representing both parties is an women of the bench of the Eastern District of Michigan important statement about the quality of the two were commissioned. Changes in the judicial appointment candidates that we are presenting to you this morning.” 4 process during this period were triggered by convulsions Riegle went on to summarize her qualifications and in the gender and racial politics and sociology in the United biographical information. Riegle continued: “. I am States. As a result, each of these remarkable women had a pleased that the President has nominated a woman to different nomination experience on their road to the bench. serve on the Federal court in Michigan. I have long The history of these times is reflected in their nominations. believed that we would have a better judiciary if more women were given the opportunity to serve, and I am very George H. W. Bush Years pleased that she has come forward as a nominee. 5 Levin • George H. W. Bush 1989-1993 entered his statement of support after Riegle. • Yeltsin After their Senate colleagues, each of the Congressmen • Iraq Invasion of Kuwait / Desert Storm • Average Income $28,960 present made statements of support for Edmunds. • Depletion of the Ozone Layer is discovered above the North Pole Broomfield said: “As the dean of Republicans in Michigan, • Nelson Mandela released from prison and becomes leader I can say that both of the candidates you have before you of the African National Congress (ANC) have unanimous backing . I am delighted to be here • East and West Germany reunite on an occasion when Republicans and Democrats can • The Simpsons airs for the first time get together in the interest of justice.” 6 Carr endorsed • Space Shuttle Discovery places the Hubble Space Telescope Broomfield’s remarks. Riegle added a final word. “Back years ago when President The Historical Society for the United States Carter was elected, as the senior Senator from our State at District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan that time, I had the principal responsibility to forward Established in 1992 nominations to the administration of Federal judge BOARD OF TRUSTEES candidates. We established at that time a citizens screening President panel process so that people were encouraged who sought Michael J. Lavoie judgeships to make their interest known: that they could be Vice President treated on the same footing with everybody else, and that Brian D. Figot a distinguished panel of citizens of both parties would look Secretary at these respective candidates and forward from a small Debra A. Geroux group, then, final recommendations of those that they thought most qualified. And I want to say that Congressman Treasurer Samuel C. Damren Broomfield, to his great credit, has pressed ahead with that, along with others. So these two candidates are people who Executive Director come out of a competitive process and an evaluation process Judith K. Christie that was, as I understand it, quite open and, therefore, I Terrence G. Berg think, represent also, as a result of a process like that, David G. Chardavoyne candidates that I think meet a somewhat higher test than Hon. Avern Cohn might otherwise be the case. We are proud of that system Thomas W. Cranmer in Michigan that we have it and it is being operated, and M. Ellen Dennis 7 David A. Gardey these two folks are a product of that process.” Hon. Mark A. Goldsmith Edmunds, who was addressed by the Committee as Ms. Paula A. Hall Edmunds, introduced a large contingent of family members Alan C. Harnisch and friends causing Senator Leahy to joke to laughter: “Is Michael C. Leibson 8 Matthew J. Lund there anybody left in Michigan?” Edmunds later gave John P. Mayer substantial sworn testimony in response to substantive Hon. Stephen J. Murphy, III questions from Senators Leahy and Thurmond about the Gregory V. Murray exercise of power and the importance of not abusing Jeffrey G. Raphelson power. 9 The public portions of the Questionnaire for Jeffrey A. Sadowski Judicial Nominees concerning biographical information Matthew Schneider were read into the record. These exceeded eight pages of Patrick G. Seyferth information, attesting to the level of pre-nomination Hon. Arthur J. Tarnow vetting then required of judicial nominees. 10 Edmunds went I.W. Winsten on to be confirmed by unanimous voice vote of the Advisor partisan Senate, a further testimony to her qualifications David J. Weaver and ability to garner bipartisan support in a divided Senate. THE COURT LEGACY Edmunds continues to serve on the bench of the Eastern John P. Mayer, Editor District of Michigan. M. Ellen Dennis, Assistant Editor The Clinton Years Published periodically by The Historical Society for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Office of the Clerk, Room 216, Theodore Levin United States • William Jefferson Clinton 1993-2001 Courthouse, Detroit, MI 48226-2797. • Yeltsin (1993) Putin (2000) Subscriptions available through any Society membership. • Don’t Ask: Don’t Tell (1993) VT legalizes same sex unions Membership benefits include the Newsletter, voting privileges, (2000) and the Annual Meeting. The Historical Society has extended • Average Income $31,230(1993) $40,343 (2000) the benefits of membership to members of the Eastern District of Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. • The Maastricht Treaty formally establishes the European Union (1993) Panama Canal handed over to Panama (2000) Papers are encouraged to be submitted to the Newsletter editor for consideration as MS Word (preferred) or WordPerfect documents • Islamic Fundamentalists bomb World Trade Center (1993) to [email protected] or [email protected]. USS Cole is badly damaged by two suicide bombers (2000) • Beanie Babies (1993) Tiger Woods wins Grand Slam (2000) The Court Legacy reserves copyright to authors of signed articles. Permission to reprint a signed article should be • World Wide Web was born at CERN (1993) Y2K passes obtained directly from the author and The Court Legacy without the anticipated serious, widespread computer should be acknowledged in the reprint. Unsigned material may failures (2000) be reprinted without permission provided The Court Legacy is • Jurassic Park / Sleepless in Seattle (1993) Meet the Parents / given credit. Gladiator(2000) Page 2 President William J. Clinton (Democrat), like Carter, sign. By being a woman on top of it, this gives us the wanted to increase diversity on the federal bench. Clinton kinds of qualities, one of which I would like to make. Her claimed that diversity, rather than ideology, was the concerns about family violence have served her well on motivation behind his judicial appointments. 11 Clinton the various committees inside the bar.” 16 Representative dismantled G .H.W. Bush’s judicial appointment Collins noted that Governor James Blanchard (Democrat) infrastructure and reverted back to advisory mechanisms had elevated her to sit on the Recorder’s Court from her similar to Carter’s. 12 During his first year in office, more position on the 36th District Court, where she remained, than half of Clinton’s nominees for federal judgeships were until she was elected to the Wayne County Circuit Court. women or minorities. In Clinton’s eight years of Presidency, Collins noted that “She has spent the better part of her of 366 federal judicial appointments, 104 were women.