U.S. federal judge confirmations in the 110th Congress

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Charles Pickering to the fifth circuit, but the nomination was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2002. Bush later gave Pickering a recess appointment to the fifth circuit in 2004. Pickering was not renominated when his term expired at the end of the 108th Congress.

Bush then nominated Michael Wallace for the seat in the 109th Congress, but the Senate never voted on the nomination.

Nomination of Leslie Southwick
In the 109th Congress, President Bush nominated Leslie Southwick to a seat on a federal district court in Mississippi, but his nomination was not acted on before the end of the 109th Congress. With the seat on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals still vacant at the beginning of the 110th Congress, Bush decided to nominate Southwick for that position instead.

Southwick's appointment proved to be controversial. Opponents pointed in particular to two opinions issued when Southwick was a judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals. In the first case, Southwick voted to uphold a ruling that reinstated an employee who had been fired for referring to a fellow employee, an African-American, as a "good ol' n-." In the second case, Southwick voted with the majority to deny custody of a child to a bisexual woman. In the latter case, Southwick also joined a concurring opinion that referred to homosexuality as a choice.

Southwick's nomination was narrowly voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 10-9 tally, with Senator Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) vote breaking a 9-9 tie.

Democrats attempted to filibuster Southwick's nomination but cloture was successfully invoked on October 24, 2007.



Southwick was then confirmed by a vote of 59-38.

