美国国家公共电台 NPR 3 Trump Judicial Nominees Withdraw, Raising Some Questions About Vetting

 

RAY SUAREZ, HOST:

This week, a man picked by President Trump¹ for a judgeship withdrew his name amid controversy². It's the third time in ten days that's happened. That said, Trump's record on filling judicial³ vacancies⁴ has far outdistanced his predecessors⁵', as NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg reports.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁶: Trump, aided by Senate Republicans, has won confirmation⁷ of 12 Court of Appeals nominees⁹. That's more than any president in his first year and, indeed, more than presidents Obama and George W. Bush combined. Part of that success is due to the huge number of judicial vacancies that existed when Trump took office, more than 150. That staggering number is due to the fact that Republicans, who controlled the Senate in the last two years of the Obama presidency¹⁰, confirmed only two appeals court judges, a record that dates back to the 1800s.

Appeals court judges are considered particularly important because although there are fewer of them, they establish legal precedents¹¹ in the lower courts. Trial court judges, by contrast, preside over criminal and civil trials in the federal courts. Democrats¹² in the Senate have been unable to block judicial nominees at every level, starting with the party line vote to abolish the filibuster¹³ for Supreme¹⁴ Court nominees followed by the confirmation of Trump nominee⁸ Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

At the outset of the Trump administration, there were some steps left for Democrats to use to block lower court judges, namely the so-called blue slip system by which traditionally nominees are not considered unless both home state senators return a blue approval slip. Now, however, senators, particularly Democratic senators, are often not consulted about judicial nominations¹⁶. Other checks have gone by the wayside, too. While the Obama administration sent all of its potential nominees to the American Bar Association for rating as to qualifications, the Trump administration has refused to do that prior to nomination¹⁵.

The result is that the vetting¹⁷ process at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue has become, as one Senate aide put it, an accident waiting to happen. And happen it did this month with three nominees to the trial courts. Matthew Petersen, this week's casualty, had no experience as a trial lawyer. He served on the Federal Election Commission with White House counsel Don McGahn. He withdrew after a video of his embarrassing confirmation performance went viral.

Questioned by Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, Petersen conceded that he had never tried a case in federal or state court, that he had never even taken a deposition¹⁸ on his own. As the agonizingly painful exchange continued, Petersen was unable to answer even the most basic of questions about the rules of evidence for trials.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN KENNEDY: As a trial judge, you're obviously going to have witnesses.

MATTHEW PETERSEN: Yes.

KENNEDY: Can you tell me what the Daubert standard is?

PETERSEN: Senator Kennedy, I don't have that readily at my disposal.

KENNEDY: Do you know what a motion in limine is?

PETERSEN: Again, my background is not in litigation. I haven't had to do a deep dive.

TOTENBERG: Petersen, seeing the handwriting on the wall, withdrew. It took longer for the handwriting to show up for Brett Talley, a 36-year-old Justice Department official and ghost hunter. He was approved by the Judiciary Committee on a party line vote in November despite a rare and unanimous unqualified rating from the American Bar Association. But as his nomination sat waiting for a vote by the full Senate, news organizations reported that he'd failed to disclose key information required for all nominees on their Senate questionnaire, specifically thousands of controversial blog posts and his wife's occupation. She's the chief of staff for the White House counsel McGahn.

Finally, there was Jeffrey Mateer of Texas. Shortly after the nomination was announced, gay rights groups called attention to frequent comments Mateer had made terming same-sex marriage disgusting and likening it to polygamy and bestiality. Here he is commenting on a lawsuit¹⁹ brought by a transgender student.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEFFREY MATEER: It just shows you how Satan's plan is working and the destruction that's going on.

TOTENBERG: While these three have withdrawn²⁰, other controversial nominees, with unified²¹ GOP backing in the Senate, have weathered the storm, giving a determined²² president the chance to remake the face of the federal judiciary. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

4 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

8 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

9 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

10 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

11 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

12 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

15 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

16 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

17 vetting   

n.数据检查[核对，核实]v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的现在分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• Scripts had to be submitted to Ministry of Information officials for vetting. 必须把脚本提交给信息部官员审查。 来自互联网
• Their purpose in clicking deeper into a site is one of vetting. 他们深入点击网站的目的是一种诊疗。 来自互联网

18 deposition   

n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物

参考例句：

• It was this issue which led to the deposition of the king.正是这件事导致了国王被废黜。
• This leads to calcium deposition in the blood-vessels.这导致钙在血管中沉积。

19 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

20 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

21 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

22 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。