The federal judiciary is once again held hostage with the recent announcement of a pledge by Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Okla., that he will block every presidential nomination for federal judgeship until the end of Bill Clinton’s term. ("No more Clinton nominees for federal bench, senator vows," Dec. 21.)

Based on a charge that the White House had violated an agreement to clear appointments of senior officials with lawmakers while Congress is in recess, which the administration denies, Mr. Inhofe is taking advantage of Senate rules which allow a single senator to put an indefinite hold on nominees. In doing so, however, he jeopardizes the judicial system for all Americans and sullies the nominating process through his injection of blatant partisanship into his constitutional duties.

Overloaded federal courts across the country continue to be clogged as Congress persists in withholding confirmation of judicial nominations for reasons unrelated to the qualifications of the individuals. In the meantime, caseloads in federal courthouses are said to be at a crisis stage, with the national average for pending cases per judge at 469. Judges are being borrowed or moved in order to alleviate bottlenecks; cases are being reassigned to other courthouses, creating added expense for litigants and wasted travel time for attorneys; senior judges and magistrates are being inordinately depended upon.

All of these maneuvers compromise the administration of justice.

The situation prompted Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, a conservative Republican from Arizona, to use his annual report of the Supreme Court of the United States last year as a forum to criticize the delays, predicting that the stalemate could not continue without "eroding the quality of justice." Nearly two years later, those words still ring true.

And for what? So that Republicans apparently can create a political gridlock long enough for one of their own to be elected to the Oval Office in November 2000, despite the vacancy crisis in the courts.

As Congress went into its holiday recess, there were still 35 nominations pending among 68 vacancies in the nation’s district courts, according to the Statistics Division of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Of those, 26 were termed judicial "emergencies." Ten more vacancies are expected to occur in the next few months with judges moving to senior status.

Certainly it comes as no surprise that the judicial nomination process is largely political, and that is unlikely to change. But when Senate leaders effectively try to usurp the president’s nominating role, the integrity of the entire process is eroded.

The framers of the Constitution clearly did not intend the Senate’s use of its power to "advise and consent" as a means to block nominees over partisan or ideological disputes, and, more importantly, ultimately deny the right of access to the courts.

In light of Mr. Inhofe’s bold statement and Republican leaders’ refusal to act as statesmen, compromise appears to be out of the question. President Clinton should utilize the constitutional check-and-balance power to make an end run around a branch of government shutting down another.

The people of this country should take up the cry for Mr. Clinton, despite any agreements to the contrary, to utilize his power to make appointments during the congressional recess. Such appointments, although only temporary until the next congressional session at the end of 2000, would allow the court system in some districts to function effectively and more fairly.

President John F. Kennedy used his recess powers to appoint 22 percent of his judges, including Thurgood Marshall to the federal bench in New York. Justice Marshall eventually got Senate approval and went on to become the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The people of this country are demanding greater output from the court system and it is just not happening. In the name of justice for all Americans, Mr. Clinton ought to lay down the gauntlet and make these appointments a priority so that justice is no longer denied in the wake of political paralysis.

Millions of Americans are relying on it.