March 31, 2017 – The Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission seeks qualified candidates for a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The deadline to submit an application for a potential appointment is April 29, 2017.

The opening resulted when U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Terrence T. Evans announced in 2010 that he was taking senior status and subsequently passed away in 2011.

Application materials must be returned no later than noon on April 29, 2017. The commission's application and instructions (which are separate documents) are available in downloadable form at the Nominating Commission’s website: www.wisbar.org/fnc.

All inquiries and correspondence should be directed to Lisa Roys, Public Affairs Director, State Bar of Wisconsin, P.O. Box 7158, Madison, WI 53707-7158. Roys may also be reached toll-free at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6128 or via email at lroys@wisbar.org.

The Federal Nominating Commission will be calling for applications for a judicial vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin at a later date. Materials for the Eastern District Court will be available on April 29, 2017, with a deadline of May 29, 2017.

About the Federal Nominating Commission

U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin reestablished the Federal Nominating Commission, charged with making recommendations for vacancies in federal judgeships and U.S. attorney positions, as of February 13, 2017.

The State Bar of Wisconsin will continue to provide administrative support to the commission and former State Bar President Michelle Behnke and current State Bar President-elect Paul Swanson will continue to co-chair the commission.

“I am pleased that Wisconsin’s Federal Nominating Commission will continue its dedicated work in reviewing candidates for these enormously important positions,” said current State Bar President Fran Deisinger. “Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin are to be commended for their leadership in keeping the commission process, which has been in existence since 1979, working for Wisconsin.”

The Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission has been making recommendations to Wisconsin's U.S. senators since 1979.

According to Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. President "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint" federal judges. The president also appoints U.S. attorneys. By tradition, the president defers to the recommendations of the home state's U.S. senators for these positions.

In 1979, Wisconsin's two U.S. senators, William Proxmire and Gaylord Nelson, established the Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission, a tradition that has continued to the present day. Democratic and Republican senators have used the commission for every federal judicial and U.S. attorney vacancy in the past 30 years, under both Republican and Democratic administrations.