Unless you live in a cave, you know that the nomination of Judge Diaz of the Business Court to the Fourth Circuit has finally been confirmed by the Senate. The confirmation, a unanimous one, has been widely reported by North Carolina newspapers, including those in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh

This vote took quite a while.  Judge Diaz is said to have been waiting for confirmation by the Senate longer than any other nominee of President Obama.

President Obama held out Judge Diaz as an example of the type of nominee who should be confirmed in a letter sent three months ago by the President to the Senate  That letter didn’t speed up the process.  There are still thirty judicial nominees approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee awaiting an up or down vote from the full Senate. 

North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan attributed the delay on the Senate vote for Judge Diaz   "to partisan reasons having nothing to do with his qualifications."

According to the Business Court’s last Report to the General Assembly as of February 2010, Judge Diaz was handling 64 cases in the Business Court.  The Fourth Circuit’s gain is the Business Court’s loss.