WASHINGTON – Hiring a federal judge all but takes an act of Congress, but Congress hasn't been acting much lately.

Consider the case of Edward Chen of San Francisco.

After President Barack Obama appointed the first Latina to the U.S. Supreme Court, he wanted to make history in California, nominating Chen to become the first Asian American federal judge in the state's Northern District.

Asian Americans applauded, and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein boasted of his record: "I do not believe there is a spot, a blemish, a wart on his record as a magistrate."

But Senate Republicans saw one big problem: For 16 years, Chen had been a zealous advocate, working as a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. Another of the president's nominees, Dolly Gee of Los Angeles, had once been a member of the group.

"I think we're seeing a common DNA run through the Obama nominees, and that's the ACLU chromosome," said Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top-ranked Republican on the Judiciary Committee, who voted against Chen.

As judicial nominations pile up on Capitol Hill, the Senate is at loggerheads, with Democrats and Republicans blaming each other for the delays.

Since Obama took office, the Senate has confirmed only four of his 24 nominees for circuit and district courts. Thirty-five states now have 96 judicial vacancies, and an additional 24 are soon expected.

"It makes the Senate look foolish, and I wish my colleagues would allow these people to move quickly," Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said last week, adding that the failure to act is "a dark mark on the Senate."

California finds itself in the middle of the fight.

Eleven of Obama's nominees – including Chen, Gee and two others from the Golden State – have been approved by the Judiciary Committee but have yet to be voted on by the full Senate.

Judicial nominations are often approved by unanimous votes in committee, but Chen's nomination passed 12-7 on a straight party-line vote.

"It was quite shocking," said Vincent Eng, deputy director of the Washington, D.C.-based Asian American Justice Center. "We have a lot of judges stalled, for a variety of different reasons. Sometimes we don't even know why they're stalled, because senators can put a hold on them."

The situation has become particularly severe in California's Eastern District, headquartered in Sacramento, where judges are handling the heaviest workloads in the nation, based on cases per judge. They're struggling to keep up, relying on outside help to keep the justice system churning.

Last year, district judges from around the country came to help out with hundreds of cases – from Los Angeles and Oakland, from Alaska, Alabama and Washington. With so much work, civil litigants are facing average delays of 42 months from the time a case is filed until a resolution is reached.

And despite persistent pleas for help, Congress has not created a new permanent judgeship for the district since 1978.

"The situation in the Eastern District is unacceptable – the courts are overloaded and justice is being delayed," said Feinstein, a member of the Judiciary Committee.

In many ways, it's a replay of days gone by: During George W. Bush's presidency, Republicans routinely accused Democrats of holding up votes on conservative judicial nominees. Now Democrats say Republicans are trying to thwart Obama's more liberal picks in an attempt to score political points.

Leahy said vacancies are now "at near record levels," and he accused Republicans of slowing the process by threatening filibusters and "dragging out, delaying, obstructing and stalling."

Republicans counter by saying that confirmations are not a race and that careful scrutiny is required, particularly because federal judges serve lifetime terms.

They point out that Bush's nominees from 2001 had to wait years in some cases before they got confirmed. They also note that the Judiciary Committee was tied up for months this year with a Supreme Court nomination and that the White House has been slow to recommend judges because it has been preoccupied with other things, including two wars, a recession and a massive health care overhaul.

Call Rob Hotakainen, McClatchy Washington Bureau, (202) 383-0009.