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HomeNewsArchivesSenate Moving on Finch's Renomination, Gomez Stalled

Senate Moving on Finch's Renomination, Gomez Stalled

Sept. 7, 2004 – The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday will hold a hearing on the renomination of Chief Judge Raymond Finch of the U.S. District Court in the Virgin Islands. President Bush has renominated Finch to a second 10-year term.
Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen will present Finch to the committee.
"I am pleased to speak on behalf of Judge Finch who has served our community with distinction," she said.
Meanwhile, Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Gomez is still waiting for approval of his nomination as a District Court judge.
"Curtis is caught up in party politics," Christiansen said Monday.
She said the White House has some candidates it wants approved. However, the Democratic members of Congress are opposed.
"There are some judges nominated by the president who ought not to be on the bench," she said.
Meanwhile, as the politicians wrangle, Gomez's nomination is stalled.
President Bush nominated him on Nov. 25, 2003.
Christiansen said Finch's renomination could also get caught up in politics, but since he is already on the job, he will continue to serve.
However, she expects to have Finch's renomination and Gomez's nomination through the process by October.
This will put Judge Thomas K. Moore off the job since President Bush nominated Gomez as his replacement. Moore's 10-year term ran out in June 2002, but he has continued to serve while waiting for his replacement to be nominated.
Moore has refused to comment on why he was not renominated. He was first appointed by then President George H.W. Bush and was confirmed by the Senate in 1992.
Finch has been a District Court Judge since 1994. He was nominated by former President Bill Clinton.
Before his District Court appointment, Finch served in Territorial Court from 1976 to 1994, finishing that portion of his career as chief judge. He graduated from Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1965.
Gomez is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
In a poll earlier this year, members of the V.I. Bar Association rated both Finch and Gomez highly.
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