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Renominate Obama pick for Third Circuit

Last month, the Trump administration decided to stay the course and nominate another white man for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, a seat soon to be vacated due to the retirement of former Pennsylvania first lady, Marjorie Rendell.

Even with Rendell on the bench, Pennsylvania has the second-worst gender imbalance of all the federal courts in the nation at 17 percent.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Zionsville, blocked former President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace Rendell, Rebecca Haywood, when Toomey refused to submit his home-state blue slip, allowing for a judicial hearing for Haywood.

For nearly a year, Haywood, an African-American and highly qualified assistant U.S. attorney from western Pennsylvania, waited for the opportunity to have a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Under the guidance and obstruction of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, several of Obama’s nominees were stalled. Haywood’s nomination ultimately expired in January 2017, and the court continues to lack gender diversity and the perspective of an African-American woman on its bench.

I’m sure Toomey will vote the party line and support the current nomination of the Heritage Foundation-approved nominee, University of Pennsylvania criminal law professor Stephanos Bibas, to fill the seat. And with Bibas’ nomination, the Third Circuit in Pennsylvania will continue to rank among the worst gender-balanced courts of appeals in the nation. There’s still a second opening on the Third Circuit. Toomey and Casey should renominate Rebecca Haywood.

Kadida Kenner

Campaign Manager for Why Courts Matter – PA

Harrisburg

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