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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2002

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Tuesday to consider the nomination of D. Brooks Smith to the federal bench.

Smith, who currently serves as a chief federal judge in Pennsylvania and has been nominated to serve on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, defended himself from criticism by Democrat members of the panel who said they were troubled by his handling of a case where the financial interests of his wife could have been affected. He was also questioned on attending so-called "judicial junkets," which are all-expense paid seminars usually given by conservative special interest groups.

Smith recused himself from the 1997 bank case a month into the matter. He said he wished he had withdrawn earlier.

In related judiciary news, the committee delayed by a week a vote on the nomination of District Judge Charles Pickering of Mississippi, one of the most controversial appointees.

Get the Story:
Judge Defends Role In Seminars, Bank (The Washington Post 2/27)
Judiciary Democrats grill Pa. judge on ethics; Pickering vote delayed for a week (AP 2/26)

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