Federal judge not retired
Posted: Monday, September 08, 2008
ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) -- U.S. District Judge Charles Kornmann said he will carry a full caseload at least until his replacement is confirmed by the Senate.
The judge assumed senior status at the end of July, but he said reports that he is working part-time are not accurate.
Kornmann's announcement means the process of selecting his successor can begin.
But he said that will be something the new president oversees.
Kornmann estimated it will be 18 months to two years before the Senate confirms his replacement.
For the time, the senior status announcement means only that Kornmann won't have to pay $630 a month in Social Security taxes, he said. In essence, tax law considers the money paid to federal judges on senior status a pension instead of a wage, but in reality the money is a salary, Kornmann said.
The enactment isn't an indication that Kornmann intends to retire from the bench.
"I don't ever intend to retire as long as I'm physically and mentally capable to handle the job," he said.
Federal judges can take senior status when their age and the number of years they've served combine to reach 80. Kornmann, 70, was eligible in September 2006.
Judges on senior status can continue to hear cases. They must maintain one third of their normal case load to maintain secretaries and law clerks, Kornmann said.
Even after a successor is confirmed, Kornmann said he will continue to hear cases in Aberdeen and help out in other districts. He said the next judge will almost certainly want to live in Pierre because of the number of criminal cases in the region.
Only one other federal judge, Axel Beck, has been stationed in Aberdeen. He was nominated by President Eisenhower in 1958.
"In hindsight, I probably should have moved to Pierre, but I was not going to leave Aberdeen," Kornmann said. "The caseload in Pierre is becoming intolerable."
That's the reason South Dakota's two other judges agreed to help with some of those cases in recent months, Kornmann said. That raised the ire of some people who thought Kornmann was trying to get rid of some his duties while remaining on the bench until a new presidential administration is in place.
Kornmann said the fact that there will be a new president next year had something to do with the timing of his announcement. Kornmann said he's not satisfied with how President Bush selects federal judges.
The nomination process: Kornmann said that it's his understanding that Bush asks the senators from a state needing a federal judge to submit three names of potential candidates, and the White House decides who the new judge will be. In the past, Kornmann said, the senators submitted a single name and if that person is confirmed by the Senate, he or she became a federal judge.
"I think that a South Dakota judge should be designated by the United States senators from South Dakota, not by the White House," Kornmann said.
Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., nominated Kornmann in 1980, when Jimmy Carter was president, but Kornmann wasn't confirmed until 1995, when Bill Clinton was in office. At that time, Kornmann said, his confirmation was supported by Sen. Larry Pressler, R-S.D.
If a state's U.S. senators are from different political parties and can't agree on a judicial nominee, the senator from the president's political party is given preference. But, Kornmann said, he believes senators generally try to work together to make nominations.
Past presidents would also accept recommendations from the American Bar Association before nominating a potential judge. Bush doesn't, but the Senate Committee on the Judiciary does before possible confirmation. It doesn't make sense for a nomination to be forwarded by the president if the bar association deems that person unqualified, Kornmann said.
The American Bar Association gives judicial nominations ratings of exceptionally qualified, qualified or unqualified.
Judicial nominations go through an extensive background check that looks at their history at least as far back high school. That's called a vetting process. Kornmann said that's fully appropriate considering federal judges are given lifetime appointments.
The judge assumed senior status at the end of July, but he said reports that he is working part-time are not accurate.
Kornmann's announcement means the process of selecting his successor can begin.
But he said that will be something the new president oversees.
Kornmann estimated it will be 18 months to two years before the Senate confirms his replacement.
For the time, the senior status announcement means only that Kornmann won't have to pay $630 a month in Social Security taxes, he said. In essence, tax law considers the money paid to federal judges on senior status a pension instead of a wage, but in reality the money is a salary, Kornmann said.
The enactment isn't an indication that Kornmann intends to retire from the bench.
"I don't ever intend to retire as long as I'm physically and mentally capable to handle the job," he said.
Federal judges can take senior status when their age and the number of years they've served combine to reach 80. Kornmann, 70, was eligible in September 2006.
Judges on senior status can continue to hear cases. They must maintain one third of their normal case load to maintain secretaries and law clerks, Kornmann said.
Even after a successor is confirmed, Kornmann said he will continue to hear cases in Aberdeen and help out in other districts. He said the next judge will almost certainly want to live in Pierre because of the number of criminal cases in the region.
Only one other federal judge, Axel Beck, has been stationed in Aberdeen. He was nominated by President Eisenhower in 1958.
"In hindsight, I probably should have moved to Pierre, but I was not going to leave Aberdeen," Kornmann said. "The caseload in Pierre is becoming intolerable."
That's the reason South Dakota's two other judges agreed to help with some of those cases in recent months, Kornmann said. That raised the ire of some people who thought Kornmann was trying to get rid of some his duties while remaining on the bench until a new presidential administration is in place.
Kornmann said the fact that there will be a new president next year had something to do with the timing of his announcement. Kornmann said he's not satisfied with how President Bush selects federal judges.
The nomination process: Kornmann said that it's his understanding that Bush asks the senators from a state needing a federal judge to submit three names of potential candidates, and the White House decides who the new judge will be. In the past, Kornmann said, the senators submitted a single name and if that person is confirmed by the Senate, he or she became a federal judge.
"I think that a South Dakota judge should be designated by the United States senators from South Dakota, not by the White House," Kornmann said.
Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., nominated Kornmann in 1980, when Jimmy Carter was president, but Kornmann wasn't confirmed until 1995, when Bill Clinton was in office. At that time, Kornmann said, his confirmation was supported by Sen. Larry Pressler, R-S.D.
If a state's U.S. senators are from different political parties and can't agree on a judicial nominee, the senator from the president's political party is given preference. But, Kornmann said, he believes senators generally try to work together to make nominations.
Past presidents would also accept recommendations from the American Bar Association before nominating a potential judge. Bush doesn't, but the Senate Committee on the Judiciary does before possible confirmation. It doesn't make sense for a nomination to be forwarded by the president if the bar association deems that person unqualified, Kornmann said.
The American Bar Association gives judicial nominations ratings of exceptionally qualified, qualified or unqualified.
Judicial nominations go through an extensive background check that looks at their history at least as far back high school. That's called a vetting process. Kornmann said that's fully appropriate considering federal judges are given lifetime appointments.
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