President Bush has nominated Christine Arguello, Philip Brimmer and Greg Goldberg to fill three judicial vacancies on the US District Court for the District of Colorado.
Arguello, chief legal counsel at CU and formerly an attorney with Holland & Hart, is tapped to replace Judge Walker Miller, who announced his plans for semi-retirement last year.
Brimmer, special prosecutions section chief, US Attorneys Office, District of Colorado, has been nominated to fill the seat vacated by Judge Lewis Babcock, who also has semi-retired.
Goldberg, a partner at Holland & Hart and a former assistant US attorney for the District of Colorado, is nominated to fill the vacancy left by Judge Philip Figa, who died in January, 2008.
Colorado Senators Ken Salazar (D) and Wayne Allard (R) both recommended Arguello and Goldberg to the president, while Brimmer was on Allards list of candidates.
A partisan split on the nominees has the potential to delay filling the judgeships.
President Bush has submitted the names of Arguello, Brimmer and Goldberg to the US Senate Judiciary Committee.
Remaining hurdles include American Bar Assn. assessments, FBI?background checks and hearings conducted by the judiciary committee.
Then the full Senate must vote whether to confirm the nominations to the federal court.
Presidential nominees from other districts around the country are also going before the judiciary committee.
If the Senate fails to confirm nominations before it disbands in September, the process could drag on until the newly elected president nominates judges and the new Senate confirms them.
Colorados federal district has seven standing judges.
