Rymer Picked for Appellate Post; Bonner in Line for Her Job

U.S. District Judge Pamela Ann Rymer of Los Angeles has been picked by President Reagan to fill a seat on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals left vacant in November when Judge Anthony M. Kennedy was named to the U.S. Supreme Court, The Times has learned.

U.S. Atty. will be the nominee of Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) to replace Rymer on the federal bench in Los Angeles, Wilson’s office acknowledged Friday.

The formal announcement of Rymer’s nomination to the appellate court is expected from the White House next week, sources said. Rymer, who was reported to be waiting for a congratulatory phone call from Reagan on Friday, has long been viewed as a leading candidate for a 9th Circuit post.

Rymer, 46, has developed a reputation as a tough conservative judge with strong Republican connections since her appointment as a federal trial judge in 1983. She was on a list of candidates for the U.S. Supreme Court before Reagan settled on Kennedy last year.

One source close to the selection process said Rymer, strongly supported by Wilson, was picked by Reagan over two “white male” Californians working for the federal government in Washington. Their identities were not disclosed.

Question of Delays

Despite the pending nomination by Reagan, congressional sources said Friday that there is a serious question of whether Rymer’s selection will run into possibly fatal delays in Senate confirmation hearings connected to the 1988 presidential political race.

Democrats who control the Senate Judiciary Committee have not yet indicated whether they intend to block Rymer’s appointment pending the outcome of the November elections, one source said. Other sources, however, predicted she could win Senate approval by September.

At some point this year, Wilson aides said Friday, the Senate will stop judicial confirmation hearings to await the outcome of the presidential election. If a Democrat is elected to the White House, the nominations of Rymer and Bonner would be killed.

Rymer, an anti-trust lawyer for the Los Angeles firm of Toy & Rymer before becoming a judge, is a former president of the Wilshire Republican Club and chairwoman of the California Post-Education Commission, charged with planning all higher education in California.

Reputation as Tough Sentencer

She made her reputation as a tough federal sentencer in 1984 when she imposed a 90-year sentence in the case of former California Highway Patrol Officer George Gwaltney, prosecuted under federal civil rights statutes for the murder of a Las Vegas woman.

Under federal sentencing rules, if Rymer had sentenced Gwaltney to life in prison, he would have been eligible for parole 10 years later. Rymer’s sentence guaranteed he would serve a minimum of 30 years, and similar terms by federal judges in Los Angeles have come to be known as “Gwaltney sentences.”

Last year, Rymer was a leading candidate for one of the vacant seats on the California Supreme Court but turned down possible appointment, saying, “I love the work that I am doing and feel committed to my appointment to the federal bench.”

Her selection by Reagan was praised Friday by Chief U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real of Los Angeles, who said: “I think she will be a great appellate judge. She’s bright, dedicated and a hard worker.”

Wilson’s choice of Bonner as the nominee to succeed Rymer was also expected. Bonner, 46, has been viewed by Wilson’s top judicial advisers as the best candidate for a federal judgeship in Los Angeles for the last two years, but he has had to wait for a vacancy.

Bonner’s nomination is expected to be routinely accepted by Reagan as part of judicial tradition that federal district judges are senatorial selections. Sources said it will probably be officially made after completion of an FBI background check and formal evaluation by the American Bar Assn., both already under way.

Wilson’s Announcement

In announcing his intention to nominate Bonner, Wilson said Friday:

“Rob Bonner has truly been a major player in the federal fight against illegal drugs. He is also a leader and innovator in joint efforts with local law enforcement, both operationally and in channeling seized assets from drug dealers back to local agencies. Rob’s law-and-order experience, along with his strong intellect and work in private practice, will make him an excellent federal judge.”

Despite Bonner’s selection by Wilson, his actual appointment to the federal bench in the coming year is even more uncertain than Rymer’s, sources said Friday. Any consideration of his elevation to the trial courts will be delayed until after a Senate decision on Rymer, one congressional source said.

Wilson’s judicial selection committees have not begun to consider possible successors to Bonner if he is approved for the federal bench, and Wilson aides said he will stay in his present job until he is confirmed.

Chief Assistant U.S. Atty. Gary A. Fees is a likely candidate to serve as acting U.S. attorney until a successor is named for Bonner, if he is approved by the Senate.