EDITORIAL
Hawai'i deserves fourth federal district judge

Imagine waiting more than two years to find out if a prestigious job offer will come through or not.

That, in effect, was the plight of Honolulu attorney "Fritz" Rohlfing, who was nominated by President Bush for a U.S. District Court judgeship here in January of 2002.

For a number of reasons, the Senate sat on that nomination for two years and never gave the nominee a hearing. Frustrated, Rohlfing last week asked Bush to withdraw his name from consideration.

The need now is for quick, bipartisan action on a replacement name.

This is not simply a matter of interest to Republicans and Democrats or to the legal community.

It is critical to anyone who is concerned about the quality and speed of the federal judicial process in Honolulu.

Rohlfing would have filled a "temporary" fourth judicial vacancy here that was created when Judge Alan Kay moved to senior status. That vacancy will disappear in October if it is not filled or converted to permanent status.

A replacement name for the vacancy must be sent to the Senate as soon as possible. And Congress must recognize that the position should be made permanent.