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Judge Sessions, vice-chair of the USSC, now officially nominated to be chair of USSC

By Douglas Berman

This press release from the White House details that yesterday President Obama made official a nomination that had been rumored for some time:

Today, President Obama announced that he is nominating Judge William K. Sessions III to be the Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission.  Judge Sessions, who is currently a Vice Chair of the Commission, has served on the Sentencing Commission since President Clinton nominated him and he was confirmed by the Senate in 1999.  President Bush re-nominated him for a second Commissioner term in 2003.  Judge Sessions has been a federal judge on the District Court of Vermont since his nomination and confirmation in 1995.

I have great respect for Judge Sessions, and I am confident he will be an effective Chair of the USSC.  But I must express a hint of disappointment that a President who campaigned on a promise of change is content here to just shuffle chairs on the deck of the USSC.  As the official announcement documents, Judge Sessions has served on the USSC for a decade; it seems unlikely he will now try as Chair to move the USSC in a significantly different direction.  The failure of President Obama to pick someone fresh and new for the open USSC Chair strikes me as an opportunity lost.  

That said, perhaps it is a shrewd move for the new Administration to put an insider in the Chair position and then to use other USSC openings to add new and fresh perspectives to the Commission.  There is still an open slot on the 7-member USSC, and I believe additional slots may become open before too long.  The appointment of Judge Sessions to the Chair position might provide useful continuity if President Obama follows up with some real change in other USSC nominations.

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