Last night, Senate Republicans prevented twenty-two of the twenty-six nominees pending on the Senate floor from receiving an up-or-down vote, despite the fact that the majority of those nominees have been waiting for several months and in two cases, a full year. Just four nominees were confirmed before the Senate left for a five-week recess. Republican senators also sent five nominees back to President Obama, necessitating their renomination and reapproval by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Showcasing the purely political nature of this obstructionism, fourteen of the seventeen nominees waiting in limbo on the Senate floor were voted out of Committee by a unanimous vote. Several of them are supported by Republican senators from their home states. Yet they have still been delayed and obstructed for purely political purposes.

This obstruction has real world consequences. President Obama has made great strides toward increasing the diversity of the federal bench. Of the judges appointed by President Bush, 78% were men and 82% were white. In contrast, seventeen of the twenty-two nominees prevented from receiving a floor vote (68%) are women or people of color.

Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron remarked, "Diversity of background and experience brings a much needed richness to the bench and our society. Republicans' outrageous delay tactics are preventing a diverse and well-qualified group of nominees from taking the bench."

A snapshot of the nominees to the Circuit Courts of Appeals who are awaiting Senate floor votes and who would add important experience and diversity to the bench is below.

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For a copy of AFJ's current report on the status of federal judicial nominations, go to http://www.afj.org/check-the-facts/nominees/judicial-selection-snapshot.pdf