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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the only Senator on the Judiciary Committee from a state in the 5 th Circuit, made the following statement Thursday regarding the continued obstruction of Judge Charles Pickering of Mississippi, the President’s nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5 th Circuit:"When the Democrats dropped their obstruction of Gov. Leavitt earlier this week, I had high hopes that they would have a similar epiphany regarding their multiple, ongoing filibusters of the President’s judicial nominees. Unfortunately, the release of Leavitt’s nomination was just an anomaly, and a partisan minority of the Senate today expanded the obstruction of the will of a bipartisan majority of the Senate.""Throughout the entire history of the Senate, no judicial nominee has ever been defeated by a filibuster. Yet in this session alone, four nominations have been blocked by this unconstitutional obstruction. Soon, there will be five, six and likely even more nominees facing partisan filibusters. This obstruction flies in the face of more than 200 years of Senate tradition, the constitutional role of the Congress, and the consent of the governed.""The vote today should be of considerable interest, and in fact should give great pause to citizens of states within the Fifth Circuit. They are in the unique situation of having both of their open seats on the bench go unfilled due to filibusters of the president’s nominees.""Charles Pickering, Priscilla Own, Bill Pryor and other nominees held hostage by partisans dancing to the tune of special interests will get a vote in the United States Senate. Obstructionists must decide, however, whether that happens through an end to filibusters – or through an intervening election."Pickering was first nominated on May 25, 2001, but was blocked by the Judiciary Committee when the panel was controlled by Democrats last year. He was re-nominated by the President on January 7, 2003, and confirmed by the Judiciary Committee on October 2. Sen. Cornyn chairs the subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights & Property Rights, and is the only former judge on the committee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.