Dole and Burr Rally Support for Boyle's Confirmation

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Dole and Burr Rally Support for Boyle's Confirmation

Special Report - June 30, 2006
Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Terence Boyle’s nomination to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals received a much-needed lift from North Carolina Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr. In a letter (download pdf) to each U.S. Senator, Dole and Burr reminded their colleagues that over one year has passed since Boyle’s nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and referred to the Senate floor, where a final vote has yet to be taken.

The seat that Judge Boyle has been nominated to fill has remained vacant since July 1994—longer than any other vacancy in the federal judiciary. Dole and Burr both believe it is time for the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty and grant Judge Boyle an up-or-down vote.

Dole and Burr cited Judge Boyle’s “impeccable qualifications and sterling character.” In addition, the American Bar Association unanimously concluded that Judge Boyle was “well-qualified” for the appellate courts, and the nonpartisan Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts found his reversal rate to be six percent, which is substantially lower than the 8.6 percent national average. These favorable endorsements, however, have not made Judge Boyle immune to criticism and opposition.

In May, Salon.com claimed Judge Boyle participated in cases where he had an alleged financial interest, but Dole and Burr insisted that “an examination of these cases, however, shows that any alleged breach by Judge Boyle was inadvertent, minor, and, in a number of instances, totally non-existent. Moreover, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest Judge Boyle knowingly heard a case in which he had a conflict of interest.” These claims have only served to stall Judge Boyle’s nomination. “Those Senators with questions about these Salon.com allegations have had the opportunity in recent weeks to have their concerns addressed in staff-level briefing,” said Dole and Burr.

Currently, Judge Boyle is not scheduled for confirmation before Congress’ July 4th holiday recess. The delay in his confirmation vote has not escaped the attention of a coalition of concerned leaders including North Carolina Family Policy Council president Bill Brooks, who joined 77 others in a letter sent to all Senate Republicans reminding them of the importance of filling these vacancies and asking them “to move circuit nominees to an honest up or down vote.”