Obama nominates Holmes for federal judgeship (Updated)

President Barack Obama has nominated Fort Smith attorney P.K. Holmes III to be the next U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.

Holmes was recommended in early December by U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark., for the judgeship.

Holmes now works as a partner at Warner, Smith & Harris in Fort Smith, and was the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas from 1993-2001. According to the Warner, Smith & Harris Web site, Holmes’ primary legal work is in commercial litigation and white collar crime. He has handled civil appeals before the Arkansas Court of Appeals, Arkansas Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.

“P.K. Holmes has exceptional credentials and an outstanding reputation both as a lawyer and a leader in his community,” Lincoln said in a statement. “I was proud to recommend Mr. Holmes to the President, and look forward to informing my Senate colleagues of his qualifications as the confirmation process moves forward.”
 
It is unclear how long the confirmation process may take to move forward. Holmes nomination now moves to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in which there are now 24 judicial nominations on the calendar. Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., issued an April 21 release to express his frustrations about the delays.

“The Senate has confirmed just 19 circuit and district court nominations, compared to 45 confirmed by this date in President Bush’s administration. In addition to the 24 judicial nominations awaiting votes by the full Senate, 14 executive nominations reported by the Judiciary Committee are pending before the full Senate, including 10 noncontroversial nominations for U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal vacancies,” Leahy noted in the statement, which blamed Republicans for blocking nominations.

Committee hearings normally begin within 60 days of a Presidential nomination, but the backlog appears to void normal time considerations. The Leahy report does note an average delay of four months from approval by Judiciary Committee to a full Senate vote — meaning there is the potential that Holmes’ nomination vote with the full Senate could come after the November general election and the seating of a new Congress.

Updated info: Marni Goldberg, Lincoln’s press secretary, said they hope hearings begin within 60 days, but the selection of a replacement for retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens could cloud the schedule.

“We are hopeful that Mr. Holmes’ hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee will occur in the next month or two. However, timing could be affected by the committee’s hearing schedule for an upcoming Supreme Court nominee, depending on when that nomination occurs,” Goldberg said.