The failure of a judicial nominee to answer questions about the U.S. Constitution during a recent nomination hearing is still reverberating through Congress. The incident is eliciting both sympathy and criticism for the nominee while raising questions about the nomination process itself from former judges who once participated in it.

During her hearing last week, Spokane County Superior Court Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren, a nominee for a federal trial court in Washington, failed to answer Sen. John Kennedy’s questions about the meaning of Article II and V of the Constitution, prompting criticism from Republicans.