Region still awaits appointment of federal judge

Onetime counsel to Gov. Carey has been in the U.S. Senate pipeline for two
years

Two years after Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan helped position a Delmar man for a
seat on the federal bench in Albany, there are fears the nomination is in
jeopardy.

"There's only so much we can do. And we've done all that we can," said
Moynihan's chief of staff Tony Bullock.

Moynihan first nominated Clarence Sundram in September 1995 for a lifetime
federal judgeship in the 32county district that includes the Capital Region.

Bullock said Monday that New York's senior senator remains "very supportive" of
Sundram, an attorney who has served for 20 years as chairman of the state
Commission on Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled.

But as time passes with no action in Washington, Bullock said his office grows
"less positive" that Sundram will ever gain approval from the Senate Judiciary
Committee. The 17member committee must approve the nomination before it can be
considered by the full Senate.

"We're still in the same place we were a year ago," Bullock said on Monday.

Sundram, 48, has worked as assistant counsel to former Gov. Hugh Carey and as a
senior law clerk for a state Court of Appeals judge. But he has never tried a
case in court, a resume gap that prompted a lukewarm rating of "qualified" from
the American Bar Association's judicial selection panel.

Moynihan recommended Sundram and he was formally nominated by President Clinton
in September 1995. His first nomination expired in January with the outgoing
Congress. The President renominated him, however, and Sundram underwent a second
hearing before the Judiciary Committee in June.

The committee, which is preparing to begin a threemonth recess in late October,
has not scheduled Sundram for a vote, Judiciary Committee spokeswoman Jeanne
Lopatto said. This leaves Sundram one of only three candidates who has
participated in a hearing since January, but has not been approved by the
committee, Lopatto said.

With 96 vacant seats on the 844person federal bench, Albany's wait for a
federal judge is hardly unique. The slowdown in the judicial confirmation
process has triggered nationwide concern from courts where caseloads are heavy.

In the 32county Northern District where Sundram would serve, there are 2,933
pending civil cases and 317 pending criminal cases. Last year, the district
which has not had a full complement of district judges since 1990 ranked91st
out of 94 districts for processing civil cases within three years.

Republican senators say the delays grow out of a reluctance to confirm liberal
activist judges who would make, rather than interpret, the law.

"It's very difficult in a 10minute session to determine how someone is going to
rule for a lifetime," said John Cox, a spokesman for Sen. Jeff Sessions, a
Republican from Alabama.

Democrats point to partisan politics.

"It's completely in the hands of the Republican majority. They schedule the
votes," said David Carle, a spokesman for Sen. Patrick Leahy, of Vermont, the
senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

Leahy supports Sundram's bid for the $133,600 a year position.

"He's extremely wellqualified. The Democrats are ready to vote immediately,"
Carle said.

At Sundram's second judiciary hearing June 25, he also appeared to have gained
the approval of a powerful Republican ally: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman
Orrin G. Hatch of Utah.

"Iam going to do what I can to see that you make it to this position, and I
believe I can do a lot," Hatch told Sundram during the hearing. "And I am doing
so on the basis that believe that you will be a great judge when you get there."

Twentyone of the 24 nominees who have had hearings since January have been
approved by the Judiciary Committee, Lopatto said. The two other candidates who
await a vote were nominated for the first time at the end of July, she said.

Bullock said some senators have questioned an article Sundram wrote about
affirmative action, and his role in drafting New York's Marijuana Reform Act of
1977. The act, drafted while Sundram was assistant counsel to Carey,
decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.

"There seems to be a certain element on the committee that wants to trump up
these issues and make more of them than should reasonably be made," Bullock
said. "They either have to get over that, or come forward with whatever
insinuation they're tryingto make."

Sundram declined to comment for this story. He testified at his hearings that he
personally was not in favor of decriminalizing any aspect of illegal drugs.

Cox said Sessions has not yet made up his mind about Sundram's nomination, but
has "serious concerns over Mr. Sundram's background and lack of qualifications."

"He's never practiced law or tried a case," Cox said.

Observers say it is unusual for candidates to be voted down by the Judiciary
Committee. More frequently, nominations are allowed to languish so long that
candidates choose to withdraw from the process.

Richard Eaton, chairman of Moynihan's judicial screening panel, said the delay
has not prompted the senator to begin considering new candidates.

"We certainly haven't thought about recommending anybody to replace Mr.
Sundram," Eaton said.