Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen announced the formation of bipartisan judicial commissions to make recommendations for Nevada’s judicial vacancies. The commissions include diverse representatives from the legal community across Nevada, ensuring the voices of Nevadans are reflected in the federal judicial nomination process.
“As Nevada’s United States Senators, we’re committed to recommending qualified individuals that have the support of our community for the federal bench,” said the Senators. “The bipartisan commissions, made up of members of Nevada’s legal community, are charged with reviewing applications and conducting interviews of qualified judicial candidates. We are establishing the commissions to encourage this and future administrations to nominate candidates that reflect the diversity and values of the Silver State.”
BACKGROUND:
The bipartisan commissions, established by Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen, will be responsible for vetting qualified judicial nominees for federal appointments to the District Court and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Nevada. The Senators created two five-member commissions, one in southern Nevada and one in northern Nevada.
The judicial commissions will interview applicants and submit to the Senators the names of candidates deemed qualified for the federal bench. In the event of a vacancy on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Nevada, the two commissions will join to form a 10-member statewide commission to review applications and recommend qualified candidates to the senators. Traditionally, U.S. senators confer with the White House and propose candidates to fill judicial vacancies in their home state.
This commission is modeled after similar processes used in other states.