Silver Gavel Awards for Media and The Arts
American Bar Association
1998 Silver Gavel Award Winners: Radio
1998 WINNERS | NEWSPAPERS | BOOKS | TELEVISION | RADIO | FILMS & VIDEOS | NEW MEDIA
| Judicial Vacancy Crisis National Public Radio "Morning Edition" Nina Totenberg, Legal Affairs Correspondent Michele DuBach, Senior Editor Washington, DC |
"Judicial
Vacancy Crisis" is a five-part series, totaling 45 minutes in length, that aired on
National Public Radio's Morning Edition from September 22 through September 26, 1997. The
series called attention to the breakdown in the federal judicial selection process, with
100 judgeships vacant and the administration of justice imperiled in many jurisdictions.
The series drew an immediate reaction by the President and editorials across the country.
The "Judicial Vacancy Crisis" series illuminates a development that until that
point had been little noticed by the public and examined its roots, its reality, and its
ramifications. Nina Totenberg's reporting informed the American people that one in eight
federal judicial slots were unfilled and that only the volunteer help of senior judges in
their seventies and eighties was keeping the backlog of cases, which was at 10 years in
certain civil cases, from being even worse. Part I of the series is an historical overview
of the nomination and confirmation process, dating back to President Franklin Roosevelt's
court-packing plan. Part II explores the practical impact on the justice system, examining
one district court in San Diego as a microcosm, and looking at the United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California, where the caseload is skyrocketing, and yet
no new judges have been confirmed since 1984. Parts III and IV are devoted to the
president's role in nominating federal judges and the Senate's role in confirming them.
Part V examines the constitutional ramifications of the gridlock.
- Availability: The series is available on NPR's Web
site using streamed audio technology; tapes (along with transcripts) can also be
ordered by calling 1-888-NPR NEWS (1-888-677-6397).
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COMMITTEE COMMENTARY
Nina Totenberg, legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio, examined the growing federal judicial vacancy crisis in a 5-part series that showed how the nomination and confirmation process has been at the mercy of elected officials within the Beltway. Totenberg skillfully interweaves interviews with senators, presidential aides and scholars with current case studies illustrating the practical effect of the vacancies and backgrounders providing historical context and examining constitutional implications of the crisis. This crisply written, well-produced series exemplifies thoroughly balanced and informative reporting of the highest caliber.
E X C E R P T S F R O M J U D I C I A L
V A C A N C Y C R I S I S
TOTENBERG: But if the courts are chaotic in San Diego,
in San Francisco at the appeals court level, they are slowly disintegrating in a stately
fashion.
In a beautiful courthouse restored at a cost to the taxpayers of $89 million after the San Francisco earthquake, there should have been four courtrooms up and operating on the day we visited. But two were empty, because the U.S. Senate has not confirmed a new appeals court judge in 13 years, despite the fact that the caseload has almost doubled.
This court is supposed to have 28 judges and the judicial conference headed by Chief Justice William Rehnquist has asked for an additional seven, which would bring the court up to 35 judges. Instead, the court is functioning with only 18 judges. As in San Diego, it's surviving with the help of senior judges, as well as visiting judges from other parts of the country.
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CHIEF JUDGE PROCTOR HUG, 9TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS: There are three constitutional branches of government. The judicial branch is dependent upon the other two to provide the resources that are necessary in order for the judicial branch to do its constitutional duty. And what we are really doing is calling upon the other two branches to give us the resources, to give us the judges, get them nominated, get them voted on, so that we can do the quality job that we want to do.
TOTENBERG: Outside the walls of the courthouse, however, judges are almost powerless to help themselves.... Nor can judges point the finger at the Senate or White House in public. Judges are supposed to be above politics. But prosecutor Alan Bersin has no such inhibitions.
BERSIN: What is a political battle within the Beltway, and may make sense in the logic of Washington politics, has real life consequences. Without judges, we cannot bring these prosecutions.
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