Nominees meet with White House officials for federal judge seats

Benjamin Grove

Monday, May 21, 2001 | 10:17 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Four nominees are interviewing with Bush administration officials for two open seats on the federal bench.

The judges, recommended by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., are competing for judgeships in the U.S. District Court in Nevada. They are state District Judges Mark Gibbons and Jim Mahan, who serve in Clark County, and Las Vegas attorney Walter Cannon. The lone Northern Nevada nominee is former Washoe County District Attorney Larry Hicks.

Three interviewed this week; Gibbons interviews next week.

All are Republicans. Ensign has the privilege of nominating judicial candidates as the state's Republican senator. Ensign submitted a ranking of his picks to the president. The president's staffers are expected to pick two, and the Senate must vote to confirm them.

It's unusual that a White House would begin processing judge nominations within just a few weeks of the senator recommending them, Ensign spokeswoman Traci Scott said. Fast-growing Nevada's federal district courts are clogged with cases, she said.

"We're very pleased that they are moving so quickly on our nominees," Scott said. "We need these judges as soon as possible."