Hatch jumped to Griffith's defense, accusing Democrats of partisanship when they know Griffith like family.

"In the past, this nomination would pass this body 100 to zip. But partisan politics has reared its ugly head," Hatch said.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, also defended Griffith in a floor speech Monday evening.

"If I were on trial for some very complicated situation, some very Byzantine kind of charge that required a great legal mind to cut through to the real issues, would I want that case to be tried before Tom Griffith sitting on the bench? My answer, as I have thought about it, is clearly, 'yes.' "

Griffith will not be the first Utahn appointed to the D.C. Circuit Court. That honor went to Harold Montelle Stephens, a Salt Lake City lawyer, prosecutor and judge who served two different tours on the D.C. appeals court.

Stephens' first appointment came in 1935 when he was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and confirmed by the Senate one day later. He gave up the position to work for the U.S. Justice Department.

In 1948, he was again nominated to the same court, this time by President Harry Truman (that confirmation took a month). Stephens served as chief judge of the court from 1948 to 1955, when he died.

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E-mail: spang@desnews.com