HATCH BLAMES COURTS THEMSELVES FOR HEAVY CASELOADS

Reply To Rehnquist: Senator Says 'Activist' Nominees Are A Problem, Too.

WASHINGTON -- Responding to the unusually pointed complaint of Chief
Justice William Rehnquist about the Senate's slow pace in confirming
federal judges, the head of the Judiciary Committee on Thursday defended
the Senate's performance and said the courts themselves were partly to
blame for their heavy caseloads.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said that while he respected the chief justice's
opinion, he disagreed with Rehnquist's assertion that the courts were
overburdened because of a large number of judicial vacancies.

Hatch's comments put two of the nation's leading conservative voices on
opposite sides of a vigorous debate over the Senate's handling of judicial
appointments.

On one side are Hatch and his fellow congressional Republicans, who have
delayed consideration of many of President Clinton's nominees, asserting
that the White House is trying to pack the courts with ``activists,'' or
judges who would interpret laws more broadly than Congress intended.

The White House has contended that its nominees are highly qualified and
within the mainstream of legal thought and should have their qualifications
debated openly.

While Rehnquist had some criticism for the administration -- saying Clinton
had sometimes been too slow in making the nominations -- he said the Senate
bore greater blame for failing to act in a timely fashion on the
nominations it did have.

It remained unclear Thursday how much effect the chief justice's complaints
would have on the Senate.

Although Rehnquist brings to the debate longtime conservative credentials
in addition to his authority as chief justice, Republicans have viewed the
issue as not just a dispute over judicial philosophy, but also as a
rallying cry to energize the party and to raise money for the conservative
cause.

Rehnquist offered the extraordinary criticism of the Senate in his annual
state-of-the-judiciary report delivered Wednesday.

``The Senate is surely under no obligation to confirm any particular
nominee,'' the chief justice said. ``But after the necessary time for
inquiry it should vote him up or down,'' allowing someone else to be
nominated.

He complained that delays in the Senate had left nearly one in 10 of the
nation's more than 800 judgeships vacant.

``Vacancies cannot remain at such high levels indefinitely without eroding
the quality of justice,'' he said.

Despite his unquestioned conservative philosophy, Rehnquist also plays an
institutional role in which he is obliged to represent the views of the
branch of government he heads as chief justice of the United States.

Many federal judges have complained they are overworked because of heavy
caseloads and backlogs.

The White House quickly seized on the report Wednesday night, saying, ``The
judicial system is more important than playing politics.''

Hatch, in a telephone interview Thursday, acknowledged that there might be
some room for improvement by the Senate, which is responsible for
evaluating and confirming judicial nominees. But he said any problems on
the courts were due largely to what he described as excessive ``activism''
of many judges and the caliber of Clinton's nominees.