Outgoing Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch is intent on getting Thomas Griffith confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. So this week he held a lame-duck confirmation hearing for his long-time friend. The Griffith nomination may have some trouble, however. No Democrats attended the hearing, and several may oppose him. Unlike with other Bush judicial nominees, Dems actually have a reason: Griffith’s law license lapsed, yet he continued to practice law. Worse, the Washington Post reports today that Griffith may have misled Utah bar officials about his work. With so many unconfirmed Bush judicial nominees who have unimpeachable credentials — and are opposed by Democrats solely in ideological grounds — is rushing Griffith through really Hatch’s highest priority?