White House To Pick Winmill For Bench

Sixth District Judge Lynn Winmill of Pocatello has been selected by the Clinton administration for nomination as Idaho’s next federal judge, sources said Thursday.

Winmill, three times nominated by the Idaho Judicial Council for the Idaho Supreme Court, must go through an FBI background check and then screening by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.

On Thursday, paperwork starting the review process also was sent to Idaho’s two U.S. senators.

A Justice spokesman said that if there are no snags, Winmill’s name could be submitted by President Clinton to the Senate for confirmation by the end of May.

“We’re very hopeful the Idaho delegation will recognize the high qualities of this individual and respect the president’s desire to place him on the federal bench,” Justice Department spokesman Carl Stern said.

Winmill was selected from a field of 38 original applicants, narrowed to six before a “short list” of three names was circulated. The other finalists were former Idaho Attorney General Larry EchoHawk and U.S. Magistrate Larry Boyle of Boise.

Winmill said last week he would have absolutely no comment on the judicial selection process until a formal nomination is made.

Other candidates for the job that opened up when Judge Harold Ryan went into semi-retirement refused to discuss the presidential nomination to the lifetime appointment with a salary of more than $130,000 a year.

Greg Casey, chief of staff for Sen. Larry Craig, said the nomination will be referred to the bipartisan judicial review committee Craig created two years ago.

It is made up of five Democrats and four Republicans. Chairman Guy Hurlbutt, a Boise Cascade Corp. executive, will convene the panel within a week or two and quickly send its recommendation to the White House.

“I fully intend to move this process quickly,” Hurlbutt said.

One of the panel’s original members, eastern Idaho Democrat Ray Rigby, told Craig he would not take part in the review process because his son-in-law, Boyle, was among those under consideration.

The federal judge position in Idaho has been open for more than two years. President Clinton last year nominated John Tait, a Lewiston lawyer and political ally of then-Democratic Congressman Larry LaRocco.

But Craig and Sen. Dirk Kempthorne refused to accept Tait and forced his withdrawal after LaRocco was defeated in November’s Republican landslide. The White House then began searching for a new candidate.

Stern said legal papers and decisions from the nominee would be sent to the American Bar Association’s review panel. Legal scholars nationwide might be asked to comment on them.

Personal evaluations and recommendations probably would be limited to Idaho residents, he said.

Winmill, 42, has strong Democratic Party credentials, having served as party chairman in Bannock County before being named to the bench in 1987.