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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Senate confirms Nye; Idaho finally back up to two federal district judges

Idaho Judge David Nye was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, to be the state’s next federal district judge. (Doug Lindley / Idaho State Journal)

The U.S. Senate voted 100-0 on Wednesday to confirm the nomination of Judge David Nye to be Idaho’s next U.S. District Court judge, bringing to a close a more than two-year stretch in which Idaho was down to just one active federal district judge.

“It is rare to be nominated by presidents of different parties, but it is a fitting testament to Judge Nye’s sterling reputation that he has secured that distinction,” Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo told the Senate, in remarks Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s vote. “I appreciate the majority leader giving Judge Nye the honor of being the first U.S. district judge confirmed by the 115th Congress.”

The federal court system has declared a judicial emergency in Idaho due to the shortage of judges, and visiting judges have been brought in from other states to hear cases.

After longtime judge Edward Lodge announced in the fall of 2014 that he’d take senior status in July 2015, Crapo and Idaho Sen. Jim Risch negotiated with the Obama Administration for a year and a half before settling on Nye in April 2016 as a nominee acceptable to both then-President Obama and the two Idaho senators. The long process included considering and rejecting dozens of other possible nominees.

The nomination cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a unanimous vote in July 2016, but never came up for a vote in the full Senate, amid partisan squabbling over the president’s judicial nominations. After President Donald Trump took office, in consultation with the Idaho senators, he renominated Nye. The Senate Judiciary Committee forwarded the nomination to the full Senate last month.

“In this particular case, we negotiated with the Obama White House for literally months and months that turned into years,” said Risch, who also addressed the Senate on Tuesday. He said he believed both sides “acted in good faith” to find a “person that would be a good fit for Idaho. … We vetted well over 50 individuals for this position. For one reason or another we were unable to get any of those over the finish line.”

“Judge Nye, he had not really applied,” Risch said. “After going through the 50 that we vetted … we sought out Judge Nye and talked with him about it and went forward on that basis. The White House came along.”

It is rare for a candidate for federal district judge to be nominated by two successive presidents – particularly two successive presidents from different parties, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond who closely tracks judicial appointments. There is one other this year, Tobias said: Scott Palk of Oklahoma. Palk’s nomination cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee the same day as Nye’s, but has not yet come up for a vote in the full Senate.

Nye, 58, has been an Idaho 6th District judge since 2007; prior to that, he practiced law in Pocatello for 20 years, specializing in medical malpractice and insurance law. He holds both bachelor’s and law degrees from Brigham Young University.

Nye can begin hearing cases as soon as he receives his official letter of appointment from the president and is sworn in; that’s expected to happen by early August.