Senate votes to end debate on Hurwitz nomination

{mosads}The vote was 60-31 on a cloture motion on the Hurwitz nomination.

Earlier on Monday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) urged the chamber to vote down the nomination, arguing that Hurwitz’s legal record suggested he lets his political views cloud his legal responsibility. Grassley said a law review Hurwitz wrote and a dissenting vote he gave on a five-judge panel considering the appeal of a murder defendant suggested that Hurwitz, currently Arizona Supreme Court vice chief justice, demonstrated that he is motivated primarily by his personal political beliefs.

“All of this leads me to believe that Justice Hurwitz, who in private practice only devoted about 2 percent of his litigation practice to criminal law, has deeply held views on the criminal justice system, in general, and the death penalty in particular,” Grassley said. “We do not need to add another pro-defendant activist judge to the 9th Circuit or to any other court.”

But other senators, both Democrat and Republican, called on the Senate to quickly approve Hurwitz’s nomination. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said that Hurwitz would not be motivated by politics.

“This is a nominee that I not only gladly vote yes on but I frankly ask my colleagues to vote yes because I absolutely, totally believe that he will decide cases based on the merits of the case, the facts of the law, not on the politics,” Kyl said.

Similarly, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that Hurwitz was undeniably qualified.

“Candidly, I’m surprised that a cloture vote is necessary today,” Feinstein said. 

In his remarks adjourning the Senate for the day, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said he expects a vote on Hurwitz’s nomination to happen sometime Tuesday.

— This story was updated at 7:41 p.m.