News-Record.com

President Obama is getting good reviews for his first nomination to the federal bench. He selected Indiana Judge David Hamilton to serve on the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, apparently with the support of both senators from Indiana, a Republican and Democrat.

North Carolina's new U.S. senator, Democrat Kay Hagan of Greensboro, is working on a similar outcome when Obama looks to fill vacancies on our federal appeals court, the Fourth Circuit in Richmond.

"As Senator Burr and I proceed with the recommendation of candidates to President Obama for the vacancies that currently exist on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, it is my goal to put forth candidates who are not only highly qualified for this position, but of whom all North Carolinians, Democrat and Republican, will be proud," she wrote in a letter to editors and reporters last week.

Hagan has discussed the issue with Burr, her Republican colleague.

Hagan, a lawyer, is concerned that North Carolina has been underrepresented for years on the federal appeals court, largely because of politics.

First Jesse Helms, then John Edwards, blocked nominees put forward by Presidents Clinton and Bush, respectively.

The Democratic Senate didn't act on some judges nominated by Bush last year. Senate Republicans already have threatened to block Obama nominees.

The Fourth Circuit serves five states, and North Carolina is the only one with a single resident on the court. West Virginia has two and South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland each has three.

The next nominee, or two, ought to come from North Carolina.

Hagan and Burr should be able to agree on a qualified candidate acceptable to people of both parties. The state's appellate courts, which are nonpartisan, have plenty of outstanding, moderate jurists from whom to choose. Then, hopefully, Obama will respect the recommendations of the home-state senators.

This is a task that can be accomplished for the benefit of the state, without a partisan dispute.