Bush nominates Va. judge to fill vacancy on 4th Circuit

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge in Virginia is President Bush's pick to fill one of several vacancies on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, widely viewed as the most conservative federal appellate bench in the country.

The White House announced Thursday that Bush had nominated Glen E. Conrad to the Richmond, Va.-based appeals court, which has handled some of the country's biggest terrorism cases.

Conrad has been a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia since 2003.

If confirmed by the Senate, Conrad would fill the seat of H. Emory Widener Jr., who died last year.

Conrad, 58, a native of Radford, Va., is a 1974 graduate of the College of William and Mary and the Marshall Wythe School of Law. From 1976 to 2003, Conrad was a federal magistrate judge in the Western District of Virginia's Abingdon, Charlottesville and Roanoke divisions.

"With over three decades of judicial experience, Judge Conrad has a thorough understanding of the wide variety of cases that come before the 4th Circuit. He has been praised by lawyers and judges alike for his intelligence, fairness and commitment to justice," White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said.

Confirmation of Bush's judicial nominees has caused friction between the Senate and the White House for years, and appointments typically slow down in an election year and stop after the political conventions. The White House says more than 30 judicial nominations are pending in the Senate.

Conrad was one of several people that Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Jim Webb, D-Va., recommended to Bush after conducting a search of their own. With the Conrad nomination, the president has five nominees pending for the five vacant seats on the 4th Circuit.

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was happy that Bush heeded the recommendations of Warner and Webb. Leahy said the nomination comes after years of contentiousness and failed nominations for the Fourth Circuit.

"Today's nomination of Judge Glen Conrad for a Virginia seat on the Fourth Circuit is another example of the progress that can be made when the president works with the Senate," Leahy said. "Progress was long coming, but I commend the president for now taking the advice of Senator Warner and Senator Webb. In doing so, the president may have cleared the way for the Senate to consider another nominee in the short time remaining to us this year."