Mitchell long overdue for district court spot
In December 2015, President Barack Obama nominated Suzanne Mitchell, who has been a U.S. magistrate judge in the Western District of Oklahoma across four years, to a vacancy on that district court. The seat remains unfilled.
Mitchell is an experienced, moderate nominee, whom Oklahoma Republican Sens. Jim Inhofe and James Lankford powerfully supported. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Mitchell on May 19, 2016, without dissent. However, the jurist languished on the floor until January 2017 mostly because Republicans denied her a final debate and vote. Because Mitchell is a well-qualified, centrist nominee and the district needs all of its openings filled, President Donald Trump should renominate her and the Senate must promptly confirm her.
The district has three vacancies in six active judgeships. Thus, the court lacks 50 percent of its active judicial complement, which frustrates speedy, inexpensive and fair dispute resolution. Deciding cases without half of the judgeships authorized also imposes greater pressure on the court’s judges.
On Dec. 16, 2015, Obama nominated Mitchell and praised her exceptional legal career, declaring that the jurist was a distinguished individual who would serve “with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice.” The White House press release observed that Mitchell had served as a magistrate judge since 2013, as an assistant U.S. attorney for three years and as a senior law clerk for 10th Circuit Judge Robert Henry for 10 years.
Nonetheless, the Judiciary Committee only scheduled Mitchell’s hearing on April 20, 2016. Inhofe and Lankford introduced the nominee, lauded her strong qualifications, and called for rapid Senate confirmation. That hearing proceeded smoothly, and the senators who asked questions seemed pleased with Mitchell’s responses. On May 19, the panel approved her on a voice vote after little discussion and without controversy.
After May, Mitchell’s nomination languished on the floor awaiting a confirmation vote. Republican leaders claimed they were restoring the Senate to “regular order.” However, Mitchell and many other highly qualified, mainstream nominees waited months for ballots. The Oklahoma senators sought a quick floor vote, yet Majority Leader Mitch McConnell never arranged it. A few Democratic senators pursued unanimous consent to vote on Mitchell and 19 remaining district nominees who required final votes, but GOP members objected and her nomination expired.
The renomination and confirmation of Judge Mitchell can be achieved rather easily. Inhofe and Langford should ask President Trump to promptly nominate her again, just as the president recently renominated University of Oklahoma College of Law Dean Scott Palk, another strong, mainstream Obama nominee who had earned committee approval the same day as Mitchell.
Mitchell deserves appointment, and the district requires all of its active judges to deliver justice. Thus, Trump should promptly renominate the jurist and the Senate must rapidly confirm her.