To: National Desk

Contact: Stacey Holliday, Concerned Women for America, (202) 488-7000 ext. 126

WASHINGTON, June 19 /Christian Newswire/ -- Concerned Women for America (CWA) says the speedy confirmation of Sandra Ikuta to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit expected later today stands in stark contrast to the dilatory delay of the confirmation of Judge Terrance Boyle to the Fourth Circuit, the longest-waiting nominee in history. 

President Bush nominated Ikuta on February 8, 2006. He nominated Judge Boyle on May 9, 2001. Boyle languished four years in the Senate Judiciary Committee before being reported out on June 16, 2005. He has been waiting more than a year for a vote in the Senate. As yet, his nomination hasn’t been placed on the Senate calendar even though the vacancy in the Fourth Circuit is deemed a “judicial emergency.”  The people represented in the Fourth Circuit, especially those in North and South Carolina need to let their Senators know they want action on Judge Boyle’s nomination.

“It’s inexcusable that this highly-qualified judge who has served 22 years on the district court continues to be held hostage by the Senate,” said Jan LaRue, CWA’s Chief Counsel.  “The Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit has selected Judge Boyle to join the circuit temporarily and help decide cases.  He has authored 17 opinions, none of which has been reversed by the Supreme Court.

“An immediate up-or-down vote is the only acceptable course of action,” concluded LaRue.

CWA’s Chief Counsel Jan LaRue shapes legal policy for CWA, analyzing, commenting, and writing about court activity and the ramifications of legal decisions for American families.

 Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.