E.F. Shea Tapped For Judgeship Clinton Nomination Follows Much Gorton-Murray Wrangling

President Clinton on Thursday nominated Pasco lawyer Edward F. Shea to a federal judgeship in Eastern Washington.

The announcement came after months of wrangling between the state’s two senators, Democrat Patty Murray and Republican Slade Gorton, over how such judges are selected.

Gorton threatened in April to block all federal judicial appointments in Washington unless he was given a bigger say in their selection.

Federal judicial candidates are traditionally nominated by home-state senators from the president’s party, and Murray had nominated Shea, a former president of the state bar association.

But home-state senators, especially from the majority party, also can hold up Senate confirmation hearings indefinitely. Republicans hold the majority in the U.S. Senate.

After Gorton’s threat, Murray allowed him to add three members to her committee reviewing candidates to replace retiring U.S. District Judge Carolyn Dimmick in Seattle.

Murray and Gorton recently announced they had agreed on Seattle attorney Marvin “Monte” Gray Jr., a former law partner of Gorton’s, for that post.

In exchange, Gorton last month pulled his opposition to Shea’s appointment to the U.S. District Court in Spokane.

Shea’s appointment must be confirmed by the Senate. Murray has predicted Shea could be confirmed by year’s end.

Shea received his college degree from Boston State College in 1965, and his law degree from Georgetown University in 1970.

After law school, he clerked for Judge Harold Petrie of the Washington State Supreme Court before entering private practice in 1971. He is currently a partner at Shea, Kuffel & Klashke.