Time to vote on Judge Boyle

Observer Washington Correspondent Tim Funk had some inside skinny about the nomination of U.S. District Judge Terry Boyle for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday morning towards the bottom of his weekly column “Inside Your Washington.” Once again, Judge Boyle’s course to the circuit court in Richmond has gotten trickier to navigate.
Boyle, who once worked for former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C. and who married the daughter of a Helms ally, is regarded by liberals as unfit for a circuit judgeship.
I think they’re wrong, but I don’t have a vote.
What troubles Boyle’s opponents this time, other than that they think he’s conservative and don’t like it, are reports from Salon.com and the Center for Investigative Reporting charging that Boyle had ruled in cases involving companies where he had investments.
I’ve also looked at the stout defense of Boyle mounted by several of his former law clerks, who point out that in one of the cases cited, Judge Boyle ruled against the company and in favor of the plaintiff in a disability case. If that’s a conflict of interests, the company didn’t get its money’s worth.
Still, Democrats may filibuster Boyle’s nomination, which has been pending, off and on, for years. This kind of delay is part of a long and sorry story of both parties opposing controversial nominees and delaying a vote on the floor of the Senate long enough to scuttle a judgeship. Republicans did it to Democrats, Democrats have done it to Republicans, and there’s way to much finger-pointing and not enough voting. No wonder the public is disgusted with both parties.
I’ve sat in Boyle’ courtrooms in Raleigh and in Elizabeth City and watched him handle three high-profile matters – a campaign finance regulation case, the dispute over ownership of North Carolina’s copy of the Bill of Rights and the proposed Navy Outlying Landing Field in northeastern North Carolina – and I’ve noticed a couple of things: He knows more about the cases than the lawyers arguing before him. He gets at the truth. And he surprises people with his independent rulings.
I say it’s time to vote.