Robert E. Bacharach confirmed as federal appeals court judge

The vote for Bacharach was 93-0.

Bacharach will fill a seat that has been open since July 2010, when Robert Henry stepped down to become president of Oklahoma City University.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver, is a step below the U.S. Supreme Court and hears cases from Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, lavished praise on Bacharach on Monday, saying in a speech on the Senate floor that he represented the “upper end” of all the judicial candidates he has seen since coming to the Senate in 2005.

“You cannot find a blemish on this man in terms of his personal integrity,” Coburn said, adding that Bacharach had “one of the greatest intellects” he had come across.

“I have never met anybody who knows the Constitution — its limitations, its intent — better than Judge Bacharach,” Coburn said.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, said Bacharach's “multiple years of litigation experience and public service as a federal magistrate for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma will serve him well in his new position on the 10th Circuit.

“As with all positions that come with a lifetime appointment, the deliberations over filling the vacancy can take time. But I am glad to see Judge Bacharach receive his well-deserved confirmation.”

Bacharach, 53, has been a U.S. magistrate judge since 1999 for the Western District of Oklahoma and has handled nearly 3,000 criminal and civil matters. He received the highest rating from the American Bar Association last year.