Judge Terence Evans Memorial Sept. 23, Nourse Nomination Stalled
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin will host a joint memorial ceremony for Circuit Judge Terence Evans on Friday September 23, 2011, at 4 p.m. in the Ceremonial Courtroom of the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse.
The service is open to the public.
Judge Evans died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome in August at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He was 71.
Judge Evans was appointed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 1995, and entered semi-retirement as a senior judge in 2009. Evans maintained a substantial caseload even in senior status.
While no one could replace Judge Evans, someone must fill his seat on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
President Barack Obama has nominated University of Wisconsin Law Professor Victoria Nourse twice to fill Judge Evans' vacancy on the court: first in 2010, following Evans's transition to senior status, and again in January when the new Congress took office. Nourse's nomination has been stalled in the Senate.
Nourse is a widely-published legal scholar, and a member of the University of Wisconsin law faculty. Prior to moving to the University of Wisconsin, she taught at Yale, New York University and Georgetown. Nourse previously served as senior counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee when it was led by then-Senator Joe Biden, now the vice president, reports The Journal-Sentinal.
The Senate has not scheduled a confirmation hearing for Nourse.
Nourse's confirmation, interestingly, would create another vacancy on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals: her father-in-law, Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Cudahy Sr., would retire from active judging if Nourse is approved.
Related Resources:
- Longtime 7th Circuit Judge Terence Evans Is Dead After Sudden Illness (ABA Journal)
- Judicial Confirmation Delays Plague Federal Courts (FindLaw's Sixth Circuit blog)
- Current Federal Judicial Vacancies (US Courts)
- Obama Nominates Jordán for Eleventh Circuit Vacancy (FindLaw's Eleventh Circuit blog)
- Obama Nominates Wallach for Federal Circuit Vacancy (FindLaw's Federal Circuit blog)