Washington, D.C. – Wisconsin’s two US Senators have reached an agreement that could pave the way to fill key state vacancies on the federal bench after a lengthy partisan impasse in the confirmation process.

The new system gives Republican Sen. Ron Johnson more say in the process than he had under the old system.

Vacancies include Wisconsin’s designated seat on the Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals in Chicago and other federal judgeships.

The new agreement between Democrat Tammy Baldwin and Republican Johnson alters the makeup of a state nominating commission long used by Wisconsin senators to screen applicants for federal judge and US Attorney and recommend finalists for the White House to choose from.  

Under the old system, when the state’s two senators came from different parties, the senator whose party occupied the White House appointed five commission members and the senator from the “out” party appointed three. ((The remaining three to four slots were filled by the State Bar and the state's two law schools, Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin).

But the new agreement announced by Johnson and Baldwin calls for partisan parity. Each senator, regardless of whether he or she belongs to the same party as the president, will appoint three members to a six-member nominating commission made up of members of the state bar.

Johnson pushed for the change, and had the leverage to get it. That’s because individual senators currently enjoy effective veto power over federal judicial nominations in their own states. Judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, makes it a practice not to hold confirmation hearings when a home-state senator of either party objects.  

After he took office in 2011, Johnson blocked consideration of a University of Wisconsin law professor, Victoria Nourse, for the 7^th Circuit. The Nourse nomination had gone through the state’s nominating commission well before Johnson got elected.

But because the Senate hadn’t acted on it, Johnson argued her nomination had “expired,” requiring a new round of applications. He took the same position on another stalled nominee, former state Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler. Johnson’s objections weren’t only procedural. He opposed both nominees.

Johnson announced that his appointments to the new commission are: William Curran, Richard Esenberg and Paul Swanson.

Baldwin announced that her appointments are: Michelle Behnke, Frederic Fleishauer, and Barbara Zack Quindel.

“I’ve always said that a balanced commission – one that ensures candidates have support from both sides of the aisle – is the fairest way to proceed.,” said Johnson in a joint statement issued by the two senators.

Baldwin said filling the judicial vacancies was a top priority for her since taking office in January, and “Senator Johnson and I were able to find common ground on an important issue for Wisconsin.”

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