The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing on the nomination of Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo for the Third Circuit Court after several months of delays.

Approximately seven months ago, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Restrepo -- currently serving the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania since June 2013 -- to become one of the judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which incorporates Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Although Obama nominated Restrepo last November, the seat has been vacant for 18 months.

As Latin Post reported, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts labeled the vacant seat as a "judicial emergency vacancy."

Despite praising Obama for Restrepo's nomination in November, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., waited until mid-May to submit his approval for a Senate Judicial Committee hearing on Restrepo's nomination. Toomey said the delay was because he was waiting for the Judiciary Committee's background check on Restrepo to finish. Sen. Robert Casey, D-Penn., submitted his approval last November.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., issued several statements blaming the GOP Senate on delaying Restrepo's nomination process over politics. On May 18, Reid said,

"The Republicans' refusal to consider the president's judicial nominees is especially pronounced," said Reid, later adding, "Imagine that. We know there are judicial emergencies and vacancies throughout the country. But we've only considered 2 judges in this entire Congress. When we began the year, there were 12 judicial emergencies. Today there are 25 judicial emergencies - more than double."

Paul Gordon, senior legislative counsel for People For The American Way (PFAW), told Latin Post, "Public pressure at home clearly paid off in getting Sen. Toomey to finally submit his blue slip so this hearing could occur. But with a second vacancy on the Third Circuit opening in less than a month, Toomey's help will be needed to get Judge Restrepo confirmed in a timely manner."

"This vacancy has been designated a judicial emergency. Sen. Toomey should work to get the seat filled quickly, not use it as an excuse to create more Washington gridlock," added Gordon.

As Latin Post reported, Restrepo was born in Colombia and received his B.A. University of Pennsylvania in 1981 and later become the Defender Association of Philadelphia's assistant defender from 1987 to 1990. In 2006, he served as a federal magistrate judge. During his time as a federal magistrate judge, he was involved in Eastern District of Pennsylvania's reentry program to reintegrate individuals released from federal custody in collaboration with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Federal Defenders Office and U.S. Probation Office.

Restrepo has received support from the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Hispanic National Bar Association. The two aforementioned organizations have also called for a swift nomination process.

Restrepo's hearing is scheduled for June 10 at 1:30 p.m. from the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.

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