This afternoon President George W. Bush announced that he has nominated Orange County Superior Court Judge James E. Rogan to a seat on the United States District Court for the Central Valley!
Rogan, of course, is a superstar on the Republican side of the aisle. While originally a Democrat, Rogan found his heart and soul in the Grand ol’ Party of Abraham Lincoln. He has had a storied career — as a successful gang murder prosecutor, a judge up in Los Angeles County, GOP Majority Leader (yes, we had one of those once!) of the California State Assembly, a Member of Congress (where he served as one of the handful of managers of impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton), and went on to serve President George W. Bush as an Undersecretary of Commerce and as Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and was recently appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to fill a vacancy on the Orange County Superior Court.
The FlashReport caught up with Judge Rogan to get his thoughts upon his nomination:
HOW WILL THIS PLAY OUT IN THE U.S. SENATE?
Obviously the "home run" for Rogan would be to be voted out by the United States Senate in a lame-duck session in the next month or two. But you have to figure it is likely that the Democrats will start to filibuster if Republicans try to confirm judicial appointments in a lame-duck Congress.
This will mean that the President will technically have to re-nominate Rogan upon the opening of the next session of Congress, and that’s where Rogan’s bi-partisan support will be very helpful. Back in 2001, Rogan was unanimously supported by both the Senate Judiciary Committee and by the entire United States Senate. Yes, including every Democrat! Of course, this was to an Undersecretary role in the Department of Commerce, still… Also, Rogan is supported in his judicial bid by some pretty prominent Democrats including Clinton White House Counsel Lanny Davis, Clinton impeachment lawyers Lanny Breuer, David Kendall, and Emmett Flood; California Democrats Juanita McDonald, Jane Harmon, and Anna Eshoo, among others. Oh yes, believe it or not, even former California Senate President Pro-Tem John Burton is supporting his confirmation!
We’ll see what happens with this — but a hearty congratulations to Jim Rogan, and of course our appreciation to the President along with well-meaning, "What took you so long?"
November 15th, 2006 at 12:00 am
What awesome news, you made my day.
November 15th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I agree this is good news, and Rogan is certainly deserving of the honor. But does he set a record for the shortest time as Superior Court Justice (appointee? I’m not sure if he actually took office) in history?
November 15th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Jim Rogan is a friend since he was a prosecutor in Pasadena for the L.A. District Attorney. His life, credentials and philosophy are impeccable.
I’m astounded our weak President actually has found the gravitas to forward a nomination to the federal court system who has such a marvelous background. Grudging kudoos to Jim–and to some degree, President Bush.
November 15th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I am thrilled to hear about this. I started to write that Jim Rogan was one of the most decent, honorable people I have ever met in politics, but I realized that that was not fair to Jim. Jim is one of the most decent and honorable people I have ever met period. A great choice by the President and he will be a great federal judge.
November 16th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Jim Rogan is not only a friend, but rarely have I met a man with such integrity, honest, and courage. He will do this nation proud on the bench, as he has a deep understanding and appreciation of what it means to be a public servant.
November 16th, 2006 at 12:00 am
A correction and a comment:
1. Central District vs. Central Valley
The blog post mentions that this is a seat on the “Central Valley” court. Actually, the nomination is for a seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California (http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/). The way the four California districts are drawn (Northern, Eastern, Central, and Southern), Central covers the following counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura.
Just a small clarification from an attorney…
2. Rogan’s tenure on the Superior Court
Someone asked (probably rhetorically) if Rogan can claim the record for shortest tenure on the Superior Court prior to ascending to the federal bench. I don’t know, but here’s a few thoughts:
Rogan was a Municipal Court Judge for something like four years under the old court system. The Municipal and Superior Courts were unified into a single body some years ago, and the municipal court judges then in office became superior court judges.
So you could call it either way…either he has 1 1/2 month’s experience as a Superior Court Judge, or you can acknowledge the change in the system and note that he really has about 4 years, 1 1/2 months experience as a state court judge.
Not that any of that likely matters, given his incredible credentials overall.