Judicial Efficiency: Is There a Vacancy Crisis Threatening the Nation's Judicial System?

A panel composed of Honorable John F. Keenan, Michael Armstrong, Otto Obermaier, Honorable Michael Schattman, and Stephan Kline discuss whether the vacancy rate in the judiciary threatens erosion of the quality of justice. The panelists discuss whether the problem involves the White House's inability to work with the Senate Judiciary Committee, people of different persuasions, to move judicial candidates along. They also discuss how our system is dependent upon people who are older (senior judges), who are retired, who are entitled to move on, having to fill the vacancies. The panel discussion was followed by a short ceremony to unveil the portrait of Judge Murphy and to have a few reflections about his life.