On Thursday, January 28, 2010 ACS hosted a panel discussion, "Judicial Nominations in the First Year of the Obama Administration," the first in a series of programs on judicial nominations. A diverse panel of experts, including a former federal judge, considered issues such as the importance of filling judicial vacancies, the degree to which the federal courts are understaffed, the pace of nomination and confirmation over the past year, and what to expect going forward. Panelists also examined how the progress on judicial nominations in the past year compares with the progress other Presidents made in their first year in office.

With this program, ACS introduced its new series, "The Future of the Courts: Nominations, Confirmations, and the Pursuit of Justice." This series of programs featured experts on the courts examining issues such as the importance of the courts, the status of judicial vacancies,and the confirmation process.

The panelists for Judicial Nominations in the First Year of the Obama Administration included:

• Doug Kendall, Founder and President, Constitutional Accountability Center
• Orin Kerr, Professor, The George Washington University School of Law; Special Counsel to Senator John Cornyn for the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
• Bill Luyre, Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO
• Moderator, Michael Gerhardt, Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor in Constitutional Law, University of North Carolina School of Law; Special Counsel to Senator Patrick Leahy and the Senate Judiciary Committee for the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to be an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court

Transcript is available here.