-Caveat Lector-
Amendment Proposes More Fed. Judges
By DAVID ESPO
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Legislation to create nine new federal judgeships is
headed for the House, but do not look for it soon to become law.
That is because the measure was slipped into a broader crime and gun control
bill in the Senate by two powerful senators -- Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. -- in an end run around a third powerful senator, Chuck
Grassley, R-Iowa.
Grassley, who heads a subcommittee with jurisdiction over the issue, opposes
creation of new judgeships until Congress can see whether any old slots
should be eliminated.
Taken by surprise, Grassley pledged to have the provision stripped out when
House and Senate negotiators meet. ``I raised Cain'' after finding out, he
said in an interview off the Senate floor.
However it eventually turns out, the episode is a classic Senate tale.
As chairman and senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Hatch and Leahy
were sympathetic to the pleas of senators whose states appeared to have the
heaviest judicial caseloads. Knowing of Grassley's certain opposition, the
two negotiated privately.
At one point, according to several sources who spoke on condition of
anonymity, Virginia's Democratic Sen. Chuck Robb, seeking re-election next
year, was pressing for creation of a judgeship in his own state. Republicans
refused.
At another point, these sources added, Hatch wanted to make the legislation
effective in 2001, after President Clinton leaves office and no longer can
make appointments. Democrats refused.
The final deal was balanced politically. Among them, Arizona, Florida and
Nevada have three Democratic senators and three Republicans. Clinton would be
able to make the appointments, but it is unlikely the GOP-controlled Senate
would act on them.
The amendment calls for two new judges for Nevada, three for Arizona and four
for the middle district of Florida. It was inserted into a larger amendment
that itself was slipped into a bill dealing with juvenile crime and gun
control. It passed by voice vote.
No one uttered a word about judgeships on the Senate floor.
Before departing for the weeklong Memorial Day break, House GOP lawmakers met
privately to assess their rocky week and discuss what to do differently when
they return.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., emerged from the session carrying a
carved tomahawk he had been given earlier by the Sauk-Fox Indians, an
Oklahoma tribe that once lived in Illinois.
Hastert was asked if he had used the weapon on Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who
had tied the House in knots during the week on a farm-spending bill.
``It was Oklahoma Indians who gave it to me, so maybe they were giving me a
signal,'' Hastert replied with a smile.
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