The United States Senate has confirmed Portland Attorney Michael Simon for a seat on the Federal bench. Simon will fill a long-standing vacancy on the U.S. District Court for Oregon.
Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley both implored their colleagues to confirm Michael Simon. Speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Merkley praised the nominee for his intellect, integrity and his distinguished career in public and private practice.
Wyden also had kind words for Simon. Then he reminded his fellow senators that Chief Justice John Roberts had determined federal courts in Oregon to be in a state of judicial emergency thanks to unusually high case loads.
"Judicial emergencies are not just some sort of Washington phrase to throw around on the floor of the United States Senate. They are actually an emergency," Wyden said on a C-SPAN broadcast.
Wyden says Simon's appointment fills a seat that's sat vacant for 664 days. This is the second time Simon has been nominated. The first time was in 2010, but that nomination died when the Senate failed to bring it to the floor for a vote.
