Menendez denies opposition to appointment is political payback

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) said Friday that his decision to block a federal court appointment had nothing to do with the judge's relationship to a federal prosecutor who investigated him in 2006.

Menendez is the first Democrat to reject one of President Obama's judicial appointments. He said Judge Patty Shwartz, whom Obama nominated in October, was not qualified to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia.

"Judge Shwartz did not adequately demonstrate the breadth of knowledge of constitutional law and pivotal Supreme Court decisions . . . that we should expect from a U.S. Circuit Court judge," Menendez, a lawyer serving his first full Senate term, said in a statement.

Both the White House and the state's senior senator, Democrat Frank Lautenberg, defended Shwartz's credentials Friday. One Senate insider called Menendez's criticism of Shwartz's credentials "laughable." She received the highest possible rating from the American Bar Association.

"With both the support of Sen. Lautenberg and the strong rating by the American Bar Association, it is clear that Judge Patty Shwartz is very well-qualified to serve on the Third Circuit," Brandon Lepow, a White House spokesman, said in a statement. "We are hopeful she will be confirmed in short order to fill this important seat."

Shwartz, 50, a magistrate judge in Newark, declined to comment Friday.

Shwartz has had a 20-year relationship with James Nobile, who heads the public corruption unit for New Jersey's U.S. Attorney's Office, the New York Times reported Friday.

In 2006, Nobile's unit launched a probe into Menendez's relationship with a nonprofit group, North Hudson Community Action Corp., that rented space from Menendez, paying him $300,000 over nine years.

Menendez, whom Democrat Jon S. Corzine appointed to finish the remainder of his Senate term when he became governor, was sworn in to the Senate in January 2006. Once there, he helped the nonprofit receive millions in grant money.

Prosecutors wanted to see if the group overpaid Menendez in rent in exchange for his support in Congress.

Two months before the election in November 2006, when Menendez faced a tough opponent for his first full term, prosecutors subpoenaed records about Menendez's rental agreement with the nonprofit.

Menendez and other Democrats believed the move was politically motivated to hurt his campaign. Christopher J. Christie, now the state's Republican governor, was U.S. attorney at the time. Christie has denied Menendez's allegation.

The investigation was closed in October; no charges were filed.

Menendez said Friday that he was not sitting on Shwartz's nomination as political payback.

"It is completely untrue that I would hold a judicial nominee based on an association with the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office," Menendez said. "In fact, I have supported several nominees from the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office during that period."

Michael Chagares, a federal prosecutor from New Jersey, won Menendez's support to the Third Circuit. Chagares, unlike Shwartz, had no judicial experience, several lawyers noted.

Lawyers who know Shwartz were surprised that Menendez deemed her unfit for the federal post. The court hears cases from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The circuit courts are one step below the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Lawyers across the board, whether they're criminal or civil, plaintiff or defendant, are supportive of her based on her qualifications, her personality, her diligence, all the things that make a good judge," said Tom Curtin, chairman of the lawyers' advisory committee for the U.S. District Court for New Jersey.

The Third Circuit has 14 judges and has had one judicial spot vacant since June, a court spokeswoman said.

When a president nominates a judge to the court, senators of the appointee's home state are given the courtesy of weighing in. They send their recommendations on a form called a "blue slip."

Lautenberg returned his slip, but Menendez has not, said Erica Chabot, press secretary for U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Typically, blue slips are a formality, especially if the senators are of the same party as the president.

"It is certainly not the rule that blue slips are withheld," Chabot said.

Leahy will not schedule a confirmation hearing unless both senators sign off on a nominee, a policy he has kept under both Obama and President George W. Bush, Chabot said.

Curtin added, "Ordinarily the president gets who he wants for the Circuit Court judges."