MEDIA ADVISORY


FORMER APPEALS COURT NOMINEE LILLIAN BEVIER WILL OFFER INSIDER'S
VIEW OF THE NOMINATION PROCESS FEB. 14

	University of Virginia law professor Lillian R. BeVier, who
was nominated for the Richmond-based U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of
Appeals by former President George Bush, will speak about her
behind-the-scenes experiences in the nomination process at 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 14, in a public forum at the Miller Center of Public
Affairs.

	BeVier was among a backlog of some 50 federal court nominees
during the 1992 presidential election year who never were scheduled
by the Senate Judiciary Committee for hearings.  She saw her
nomination lapse when Republican Bush lost the election to Democrat
Bill Clinton.  Her talk, titled "The Confirmation Hearing That Never
Was: Reflections of a Nominee," will offer a rare inside glimpse of
the appointment process and will focus on her own experiences during
the impasse between Congress and the White House that blocked
progress on confirming nominees.

	BeVier, a noted Constitutional and First Amendment scholar
who received a "well qualified" rating by an American Bar
Association panel that screens prospective judges, has taught at
U.Va. since 1973.

	The Miller Center is currently sponsoring a national
commission on problems that have created a backlog in the selection
of federal judges.  The federal court system is plagued by
significant numbers of unfilled judgeships and delays in the
appointment process.  The bipartisan commission, which includes
former government officials and legal scholars, will make
recommendations this spring for improving the process.

	Because of space limitations, please call the Miller Center
at (804) 924-7236 to reserve a seat at the forum.

	For information about the Miller Center commission on
selection of federal judges contact center director Kenneth W.
Thompson.

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February 9, 1996