U.S. Senate Panel Hears From Appeals Court Nominee

A Madison lawyer nominated to the nation’s oldest federal appeals court vacancy told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday that he looks forward to consensus-building on the court.

The fact that Donald K. Schott even received a Senate hearing is significant. The vacancy President Barack Obama appointed him to fill is more than six years old and Republicans in control of the U.S. Senate have said they won’t consider Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.

But Schott’s confirmation hearing was short and cordial. He told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that his experience running a law firm has taught him how to build consensus.

“You need to find a way to work together towards the common goal and find what you have in common and use that as building a bridge rather than starting with the things that divide you or separate you.”

Schott was introduced by Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who said in an interview afterward that she hopes Republicans who control the Senate will now confirm him.

“I hope that against this backdrop of Senate Republicans obstructing President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, that perhaps they’ll want to demonstrate to the American public that they can do their jobs when it comes to confirming court nominees,” Baldwin said.

Court-watchers say that’s no guarantee, especially in an election year. University of Richmond School of Law Professor Carl Tobias said appellate court nominees like Schott face more scrutiny than those tapped for district court judgeships.

“I think everyone perceives there’s more at stake there,” Schott said. “They decide cases that have more impact at a higher level of the judiciary.”

Schott was nominated by Obama to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, which covers the states of Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. The court has issued high-profile decisions in Wisconsin recently on topics ranging from collective bargaining to a John Doe investigation of Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign.

The vacancy on the 7th Circuit is more than six years old. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson blocked Obama’s first nominee for the court in 2010. Johnson submitted what’s known as his “blue slip” for Schott in March, which cleared the way for Wednesday’s hearing, though Johnson didn’t attend the hearing in person.