Burr plays politics with long-vacant judicial seat
Published May 2, 2016
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, May 2, 2016.
We've heard a lot of descriptions of Judge Patricia Timmons-Goodson over the years. All of them were glowing.
So it's hard to swallow Sen. Richard Burr's tarring of her nomination to a federal judgeship as "brazenly political" and an "election season stunt." The brazen politics are all his.
The judge, a Fayetteville native, was the first black woman to serve on the North Carolina Supreme Court. She is currently vice chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The best word for her career is "distinguished."
But there's certainly been plenty of politics played with the Eastern District of North Carolina federal judgeship that President Obama has nominated her to. It's been vacant since the second term of George W. Bush's administration, a political football kicked willy-nilly by senators for whom political stunts are more important than the administration of justice in our federal courts.
Thanks to the arcane rules and traditions of the Senate, Burr can block Timmons-Goodson's nomination for as long as he chooses. We expect he will.
And that's a shameful disservice to the administration of justice in the state Burr serves.
May 2, 2016 at 9:01 pm
Pat Kelley says:
I supported Richard Burr in his last Senate campaign, but his remarks on thinking HB2 will not hurt North Carolina sadly shows me he's no longer the leader I thought he was ... our state needs growth in the areas of both financial and human rights, but apparently he doesn't think so. Now comes his ploy to block Patricia Timmons-Goodson in a well-deserved judicial position. His actions continue to embarrass me while I am more and more impressed with Deborah Ross. I'm sure I'm not the only one seeking a senatorial switch for the better this November. (What has gotten into the party of Lincoln anyway?! So intolerant while making many shockingly bad decisions ... ol' Abe would be dismayed, too.)
