LV judge chosen for fed bench

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2000 | 1:08 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton on Tuesday nominated U.S. District Judge Johnnie Rawlinson of Las Vegas for a higher bench, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. But the most difficult hurdles in the nomination process may lie ahead.

Now the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider Rawlinson. Hearings have not been scheduled yet. The full Republican-controlled Senate must approve her before she takes the seat.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., as the state's ranking senator of the president's party, forwarded her name to Clinton in December.

"The 9th Circuit is already faced with an overwhelming caseload, and I am pleased that the White House has responded so quickly in nominating Judge Johnnie Rawlinson to a seat on that court," Reid said in a prepared statement.

"I am optimistic that we will now be able to move her nomination along quite rapidly in the Senate."

The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit is the appeals court above Nevada's U.S. District Courts where Rawlinson now serves. The 9th Circuit is the largest of the nation's 13 federal appeals court circuits, with 28 judges serving nine Western states.

Rawlinson, 47, would be the only black member of the 9th Circuit bench, one step shy of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Rawlinson, a former Clark County assistant district attorney, has been on the U.S. District Court bench for two years. The Senate took just four months to approve her to that post.

"We've got a good working relationship with (Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin) Hatch and (Sen. Majority Leader Trent) Lott," Reid spokesman David Cherry said.

But the Senate Republicans have stalled many of Clinton's judicial nominations, and Democrats are worried some of Clinton's choices won't be approved before he leaves office.

"Ultimately her appointment hinges on whether the Republicans play politics with nominations to the federal bench," Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., said.

Bryan also said several Republican senators in 9th Circuit states favor a proposal to break up the circuit, which could add another roadblock to appointments this year.

But Bryan and Reid agree that Clinton's quick nomination and the fact that it's still early in the Congressional session bode well for Rawlinson.

Bryan added, "The Republican caucus is somewhat sensitive to criticism they have gotten for rejecting minority candidates in this cycle."

If a Republican president were elected, and Nevada voters elected a Republican senator to the seat held by the retiring Bryan, then the new senator could make a new nomination.

Former Congressman John Ensign is the Republican front-runner for the Senate seat. Ensign campaign manager Mike Slanker said today it was too early for Ensign to comment on Rawlinson or what nominations he might make.

"We've got a campaign to run," Slanker said.

One Senate observer said any Clinton nominations face a tough, but not impossible, road this year.

Far fewer judges are likely to be confirmed this year than in typical years, said Elliot Minceberg, vice president of Washington-based People for the American Way, a citizens group that tracks judicial issues.

"There's no question that there is plenty of time," Minceberg said. "The Republicans have showed that they can move people through in record time. The question is not whether there is a way, it's whether there is a will."

Minceberg added that of the 10 judicial nominees who have been waiting the longest for Senate appointment, six are minorities or women.

Nevada's lone Republican in Congress, Rep. Jim Gibbons, who has no vote in the Senate confirmation process, supports Rawlinson.

"It is my hope that Sen. Reid's recommendation to the 9th Circuit will receive immediate consideration given Nevada's enormous caseload," Gibbons said in a written statement. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., also supports Rawlinson.

Reid also has forwarded to Clinton the names of three candidates to fill three open seats on Nevada's U.S. District Court, one that would be vacated by Rawlinson.

They are Henderson Justice of the Peace Kent Dawson, federal Magistrate Roger Hunt and Las Vegas federal bankruptcy Judge Linda Riegle.

Clinton administration officials are still considering those nominations, a Clinton spokeswoman said Tuesday.