Democrats’ Judicial Screening Panels Draw Progressive Ire

Top Democratic senators are facing criticism from the left for using screening commissions to vet judicial picks, in what could be the latest casualty of the partisan judicial confirmation wars.

Thirty-seven of the Senate’s 47 Democrats rely on judicial screening commissions, according to a recent study by liberal think tank People’s Policy Project. The commissions have long been a first step in vetting picks that senators forward to the White House.

Senators like Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) touted their committees at recent confirmation hearings for judicial nominees from their states.

Liberal groups, including Demand Justice and Alliance ...