MONTANA. Pending Judicial Nominees (0) Judicial Vacancies and Future Judicial Vacancies without Nominees (2) Seat Became Vacant

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1 MONTANA Pending Judicial Nominees (0) Judicial Circuit Vacancy Judicial Vacancies and Future Judicial Vacancies without Nominees (2) Prior Incumbent/Incumbent Vacancy Announced Seat Became Vacant Senator Sent Rec. to White House Days Seat Vacant Judicial Emergency Controlling Senators 9 MT Sam Haddon 12/4/ /31/2012 3/11/ Yes Baucus 9 MT Richard Cebull 10/4/2012 3/18/2013 3/11/ Yes Baucus Senator Max Baucus uses a judicial nominating commission. Senator John Tester does not use a judicial nominating commission. Nominating Commission In December 2010, Senator Baucus formed a geographically diverse, bipartisan panel of five attorneys to recommend one or more candidates to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy American Judicature Society Current as of 4/11/13

2 for federal judgeships announced 2 for federal judgeships announced MARCH 11, 2013 3:20 PM BY CLAIR JOHNSON State District Judge Susan Watters of Billings and Montana Supreme Court Justice Brian

2 2 for federal judgeships announced 2 for federal judgeships announced MARCH 11, :20 PM BY CLAIR JOHNSON State District Judge Susan Watters of Billings and Montana Supreme Court Justice Brian Morris will be recommended to the White House for two federal judgeships in Montana, Sen. Max Baucus announced Monday. Watters, 54, will be recommended for the Billings seat held by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull, who will be taking a reduced workload this month. Morris, 49, will be recommended to replace Senior U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon in Great Falls, said a spokeswoman for Baucus' office. Haddon went to senior status at the end of "Judge Watters and Justice Morris are exceptionally qualified and highly respected individuals who, I have no doubt, will serve the people of Montana well while upholding the ideals of justice and fairness," Baucus said. A nine-member nomination committee recommended Watters along with state District Judge Ingrid Gustafson of Billings and Helena attorney Mike Lamb for the Billings seat. "I'm thrilled and very honored and very humbled," Watters said Monday afternoon. "It's just a wonderful opportunity and I'm very appreciative of Sen. Baucus having this confidence in me." "I've been on the state bench for 15 years. I believe I have a reputation for well-reasoned decisions and being fair and following the law to the best of my ability. I'm looking forward to the challenge of working with the federal laws," Watters said. If confirmed, Watters would be the first woman in Montana to become a federal district judge. "I didn't really think a lot about that aspect of the nomination, but people have been mentioning that to me. That's something that's really wonderful," she said. Such a milestone also would make her two grown daughters proud, she said. Morris was a candidate but was not among the three initially recommended for the Great Falls position. The panel's three finalists were Great Falls attorney Elizabeth Best, state District Judge Dirk Sandefur of Great Falls and Ryan Rusche, a lawyer with offices in Columbia Falls and Wolf Point. Morris said he was honored by the recommendation. "I look forward to the chance to serve the people of Montana," he said. Watters' and Morris' names will be forwarded to the White House. President Barack Obama will then decide whether to nominate them. Nominations for the lifetime appointments must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The position pays $174,000 a year. Great Falls attorney Max Davis, who chaired the nomination committee, said almost all of the 30 applicants for the positions were good candidates. Watters, he said, was one "the committee thought highly of collectively." Davis also said he was not the least offended that Baucus looked beyond three finalists and selected 2:01:00 PM]

3 2 for federal judgeships announced Morris. Baucus, a lawyer, talked to all of the committee members and ultimately made his own decision, Davis said. "It was not like the committee felt he (Morris) was disqualified in any sense. He's a good justice on the Supreme Court," he said. One of the issues was whether Morris would move to Great Falls and live there full time, something that was important to the current federal judiciary and the panel, Davis said. Morris said he would move to Great Falls. Another consideration was having a judge who would be young enough to take over as chief judge in seven years, Davis said. When Cebull goes to senior status, the chief judge's duties, which are largely administrative, will fall to Montana's remaining active judge, Dana Christensen of Missoula, who was named to the bench in December A chief judge serves a seven-year term. Federal rules have age limits on becoming a chief judge. If the new judges were too old, Christensen would end up having to be chief for another term, Davis said. Carl Tobias, a former University of Montana law professor and legal expert on federal court, called both Watters and Morris experienced and highly regarded. "If you want that judicial experience, they are two well-qualified people," said Tobias, who teaches law at the University of Richmond in Virginia. The only "but," he said, was that both candidates have experience in the state system, although the federal and state system aren't that different. The semi-retirement of two of Montana's three district judges created an emergency for filling the positions, Tobias said. "It's critical and pressing, and I think they'll move it," he said. Tobias predicted the nominations and confirmations will move more quickly through the Senate because of Montana's emergency and the lack of judicial nominations from senators in other states. Watters has been on the state bench since 1999 after first being appointed by Gov. Marc Racicot. She was re-elected in November. Prior to her appointment, Watters was a sole practitioner, then worked with Hendrickson, Everson, Noennig and Woodward in Billings. Watters also worked for six years as a deputy county attorney in Yellowstone County. She graduated from Eastern Montana College in 1980 and received a law degree from the University of Montana in Morris has served as a state Supreme Court justice since 2004 and was re-elected in Prior to serving on the bench, Morris was a solicitor general under former Attorney General Mike McGrath from 2001 to He previously practiced law with the Bozeman firm of Goetz Madden & Dunn. Morris has a bachelor's and master's in economics from Stanford University and a law degree from Stanford Law School. 2:01:00 PM]

4 2 for federal judgeships announced 2:01:00 PM]

5 Obama to appoint 2 federal judges in Montana in 2013 Obama to appoint 2 federal judges in Montana in 2013 DECEMBER 03, :45 AM BY CLAIR JOHNSON BILLINGS GAZETTE BILLINGS - The move to senior status of two of Montana's three federal district judges virtually ensures that the Obama administration will get to appoint their replacements, probably next year. Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull in Billings announced in October that he will go on senior status in March On Friday, the move to senior status for U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon in Great Falls was announced on the webpage of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for federal judges who continue to hear cases with a reduced workload. Haddon, 75, could not be reached Friday for comment. The 9th Circuit page said he would go on senior status by the end of this year. That would mean that when Cebull, 68, takes senior status in March, it will leave U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen of Missoula, who took his post only last December, as Montana's only active federal district judge. How soon it will be before new judges to replace Cebull and Haddon take the bench is uncertain. The selection process for the lifetime appointment is thorough, and a nominee could get stuck in a logjam of judicial nominees awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation. Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond and a former University of Montana law professor, said it may be late spring before there are nominees. "There is fair amount of stuff that has to happen," he said. Cebull and Haddon semi-retiring within months of each other puts more pressure on the selection process, he said. "I don't think it's an emergency, but you want to move expeditiously to have active judges. I think the time for dawdling is over," Tobias said. Christensen will have help from Cebull, Haddon and Montana's three other senior judges, Don Molloy in Missoula, Jack Shanstrom of Billings and Charles Lovell of Helena, Tobias said. The appointment process for the federal bench is partly political. The president nominates a candidate for Senate confirmation after conferring with the senior senator in this case, Democrat Max Baucus from the state in which the judge will serve. Baucus will take steps to submit recommendations "at the appropriate time, said Kathy Weber, a Baucus spokeswoman. 1:40:51 PM]

6 Obama to appoint 2 federal judges in Montana in 2013 Tobias and Montana lawyers who participated in the selection process for Christensen expect Baucus to do what he has done in past nominations appoint an advisory committee of attorneys to review and recommend a short list of candidates and to consult with junior Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., on forwarding names to the White House. Once a person is nominated, the candidate goes through an FBI background check and is reviewed and rated by the American Bar Association, Tobias said. As for possible candidates for the judgeships, Tobias said it could be time for a plaintiffs lawyer. Christensen s practice was defense litigation in medical malpractice cases. Other possibilities include federal magistrate judges, state Supreme Court justices or state District Court judges and practicing attorneys, including American Indian lawyers, Tobias said. Karla Gray, retired chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court, said a candidate s experience in federal court is important because the federal system is significantly different from the state system. Gray and Tobias both said female lawyers should be considered. Montana is one of about 15 of the 94 judicial districts that have not had a female district court judge, Tobias said. That kind of diversity is important, said Gray, who was Montana's first female chief justice and first elected female justice. The federal (bench) in Montana, with the sole exception of Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby, has been and continues until now to be entirely male." Two female attorneys have confirmed an interest. Martha Sheehy of Billings said she is interested in Cebull's judgeship. She declined to comment further. Sheehy, whose husband is Sidney Thomas, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge based in Billings, cochaired the advisory committee to Baucus when Christensen, 60, was picked last year to replace U.S. District Judge Don Molloy of Missoula, who went to senior status. She also is on the Montana Judicial Nominating Commission. Sheehy has practiced law for 24 years, including the past 13 years in her own firm. She also represents The Billings Gazette. Billings attorney Carey Matovich also confirmed an interest. "I would be very honored to serve in that capacity," she said Friday. Matovich, of Matovich, Keller & Murphy, has practiced law for more than 31 years. She has a general practice of civil and trial work. Another prominent female attorney, Montana Supreme Court Justice Pat Cotter, said Thursday that she might be interested under different circumstances but that she intends to fulfill her commitment to a full term on the state's high court. Cotter was re-elected in 2008 to a second, eight-year term on the bench. Cotter s husband is U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter. A federal district judgeship is an extremely unique and important job because of the effect a judge s decision has on people's lives, said Missoula attorney Milt Datsopoulos, who co-chaired the advisory committee with Sheehy. 1:40:51 PM]

7 Obama to appoint 2 federal judges in Montana in 2013 Montana has a lot of not only good, but extraordinary lawyers. I think there will be a pool of applicants that can produce really a superb candidate, Datsopoulos said. Datsopoulos said his top three criteria for candidates are judicial temperament, professional achievement and experience and intellectual firepower. Because a judge has extraordinary power to influence and affect people s lives, a judge should have the patience and I think the compassion to deal with people s problems, he said. Datsopoulos also said an American Indian should be on the selection committee that recommends candidates because American Indians have a big stake in the federal system. All major crimes on most of the Indian reservations in Montana are prosecuted in federal court, where laws and sentencing are more severe than in state court. Both Cebull and Shanstrom served as federal magistrates before being appointed district judges by President George W. Bush and confirmed together in A magistrate judge is appointed by a majority of the active judges in a district and hears civil and misdemeanor criminal cases and conducts arraignments. Unlike federal judgeships, which are a lifetime appointment, a federal magistrate is appointed for eight years. A magistrate judge's salary is $160,080. A federal district judge is paid $174,000 a year. Meanwhile, a misconduct investigation by a 9th Circuit panel into Cebull is still pending. Cebull earlier this year forwarded on from his office computer that contained a crude and racist joke involving President Obama. Tobias said he expects Cebull will continue to stay active on senior status, calling him very professional and very hard-working." Nationally, there are 83 federal judiciary vacancies currently with 44 pending nominations, some of which have been pending for more than a year. That s slightly less than 10 percent for all 874 federal judgeships. There are 19 anticipated vacancies with two nominations pending. The question is, how long would (a nomination) sit in the White House, where nominations haven t been happening that quickly, Tobias said. The vacancy rate has been high since 2009, when the vacancies reached 90 positions and have fluctuated since then from about 70 to 100, Tobias said. I think the Republicans haven t cooperated very much, Tobias said. The Republicans, he continued, say the president hasn t nominated enough people. But if they re not moving them, what s the point? he said. Nineteen nominees are awaiting floor votes by the Senate, but Republicans are not agreeing to those votes, he said. When there is vote, the person usually is confirmed by an overwhelming vote, he said. The backlog of nominees has created problems for some districts, which are down one-third to one-half of their complement of judges, and ultimately it slows justice, Tobias said. Tobias expects confirmation for Cebull s and Haddon's replacements to be relatively smooth but that could depend on whether Republicans are more willing to cooperate than in President Obama s first term. 1:40:51 PM]

8 Obama to appoint 2 federal judges in Montana in 2013 That is not clear yet, he said. 1:40:51 PM]

U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations During President Trump s First Year in Office: Comparative Analysis with Recent Presidents

U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations During President Trump s First Year in Office: Comparative Analysis with Recent Presidents Barry J. McMillion Analyst in American National Government May 2,