GOP filibusters Obama court nominee

WASHINGTON -- The Senate war over judicial nominees flared again Tuesday when Republicans blocked a former New York State solicitor general from a Washington court spot that frequently has served as a steppingstone to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Caitlin Halligan, 45, general counsel to the Manhattan district attorney, saw her nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held up when Democrats failed to get the 60 votes needed to end a GOP filibuster.

The filibuster set off acrimony between the parties and prompted a complaint from President Barack Obama.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a leader in Democratic filibusters of several judicial picks of President George W. Bush, said Republicans had broken a 2005 truce that has stopped both parties from blocking nominees because of their ideology. The so-called "Gang of 14" agreement allowed filibusters of judicial nominees only in cases of "extraordinary circumstances," such as ethical or character issues or lack of qualifications, Schumer said.

Senate Republicans Tuesday made future GOP court nominees fair game for filibusters by blocking Halligan, Schumer said. "The approach taken by Senate Republicans will have lasting consequences beyond this one nomination," he said.

Defending the filibuster, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) complained about Halligan's representation of New York and other municipalities in the state that sought to hold gun manufacturers liable for gun violence. New York State courts rejected their lawsuit.

Grassley also criticized Halligan for signing off on a New York City Bar Association position paper favoring civilian trials instead of military tribunals for accused terrorist detainees.

Obama stood by Halligan.

"Ms. Halligan has the experience, integrity and judgment to serve with distinction on this court, and she has broad bipartisan support from the legal and law enforcement communities," Obama said. "But today, her nomination fell victim to the Republican pattern of obstructionism that puts party ahead of country."

Halligan, a graduate of Princeton University and Georgetown Law Center, has spent much of her career in New York working in private law firms. For eight years until 2007 she served in the New York City office of the state attorney general.