Why the holdup on Third Circuit judge nominee?

THEY SAY that patience is a virtue. But when it comes to politicians playing politics with our courts and delaying the confirmation of needed judges, I'd say there's more virtue in action.

Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on pending judicial nominations, the first one in eight weeks. One person the committee should hold a hearing for, but who is not on tomorrow's list, is a nominee for a vacancy on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, based here in Philadelphia - a vacancy that has been designated a judicial emergency.

The nominee for that spot, federal District Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo, was nominated by President Obama back in November. He's exactly the kind of person we want serving on the bench. Before becoming a judge, Restrepo worked for more than a decade on civil-rights work, including as a public defender in Philadelphia. He would be the second Latino judge serving on this circuit, and the first from Pennsylvania.

Despite the fact that Restrepo has the support of both of our state's senators and is entirely qualified for the job, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has refused to hold a hearing for him. Why the needless delay?

Of course, this isn't only about Restrepo specifically. It's about our courts being adequately staffed so that they can do the critical work they are meant to do.

Though it's the landmark Supreme Court cases that make headlines, the vast majority of cases don't make it all the way there. The Supreme Court declines to hear more than 99 percent of cases appealed to it, often making circuit courts, like the one Restrepo is nominated for, the last word on issues that have a big impact on our lives, including religious-liberty rights, women's rights, minority rights, workplace issues and consumer protections. We need qualified judges staffing those spots on the bench.

But, instead of moving quickly to fill the vacancies, Sen. Grassley is creating an ever-growing backlog on the lower courts. Although Obama nominated seven people in November - nearly half a year ago - Grassley has let only two of them have hearings.

We deserve to have these spots filled so that our courts can be fully staffed and ready to hear the cases that shape our daily lives. Americans deserve their day in court. But this can't happen when politicians ignore vacancies for months on end. The number of circuit and district court vacancies across America has already grown from 40 to 50 since the beginning of the year, and emergencies have jumped from 12 to 23 in the same period.

Here in Pennsylvania, Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey expressed support for Judge Restrepo last year when he was first nominated, but they can and should do more. They should urge Chairman Grassley to stop making the confirmation process into a political game and hold a hearing for this thoroughly qualified nominee.