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July 22

Senate committee OKs Mariani nod

Nomination for U.S. District Court judge heads for full Senate floor vote.

JONATHAN RISKIND Times Leader Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved the federal judicial nomination of Scranton labor lawyer Robert Mariani.

Mariani’s nomination for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania now heads for a full Senate floor vote, though that could be weeks or even months from now because of a backlog of judicial nominations waiting for action by the full Senate.

Mariani was one of six judicial nominees to be approved en bloc by the judiciary committee in a unanimous voice vote, a sign that there is little, if any, controversy attached to his nomination.

Ten committee members, including four Republicans, were present for the voice vote in a Senate hearing room.

In addition to Mariani, two other Pennsylvanians saw their judicial nominations advance Thursday: Western District nominees Cathy Bissoon and Mark Hornak.

Mariani appeared before the committee last month for his nomination hearing.

A sign then that his nomination would not be controversial was the appearance, also, of both of Pennsylvania’s senators, Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Scranton as might be expected of a nomination made by a Democratic president, but also GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Zionsville.

Toomey appeared along with Casey at the June 22 judiciary committee hearing to introduce Mariani and the other Pennsylvania nominees and laud their nominations.

Toomey said Mariani and the other two Pennsylvania nominees all have the necessary experience and skill to be fair and impartial judges.

“These attributes will serve them very well if they are confirmed for the bench, and I hope that the committee favorably reports all three nominees to the full Senate, which I hope will then promptly confirm them,” Toomey said at the hearing.

Mariani told the committee at the hearing that following the letter of the law and adhering to higher court precedents would guide his actions on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, not his years as a labor lawyer.

“I am very pleased that these well-qualified candidates can now come before the Senate for a confirmation vote,” Casey said. “It is imperative that these vacancies are filled as soon as possible to address the shortage of U.S. district court judges in Pennsylvania. This issue transcends partisanship and I look forward to continuing to work with Sen. Toomey to ensure that Pennsylvania has the most experienced, accomplished and talented judges on our courts.”

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