Carper Decries Judicial Injustice for D.C. Residents

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del), senior member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), today called out the historic injustice facing residents of the District of Columbia in a hearing to consider three D.C. Superior Court nominees. 

“The average time it takes, Mr. Chairman and colleagues, to fill a vacancy on the D.C. Superior Court . . . is over three years. Over three years. If we’d done that in the state of Delaware we should have all been thrown out of office. It’s just appalling. Justice delayed is justice denied.

… 

“The nearly 700,000 Americans who live in D.C. pay taxes; they serve our country—many times in uniform; they start businesses; they care for their neighbors, their friends and colleagues just like the rest of us. And yet, they are not treated like every other American from our 50 states.”

Senator Carper’s full opening statement may be viewed HERE.

Background:

States and local governments typically make decisions over their own judicial systems. Yet, when it comes to the District, the federal government must confirm Washington, D.C.’s judges. Vacant seats on D.C. local courts are often open for years as a direct result of the Senate’s failure to act swiftly to confirm well-qualified judges. Senator Carper’s legislation to grant statehood to Washington, D.C., S. 51—the Washington, D.C. Admission Act—would fix this historic injustice. The legislation now boasts 45 cosponsors, a record number, and Carper has introduced statehood legislation every Congress since 2013.

###