Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee, left, nominated William E. Smith to be a District Court judge in 2002.

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AP / VICTORIA AROCHO

WASHINGTON — President Bush yesterday nominated U.S. District Judge William E. Smith, of East Greenwich, to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to succeed Judge Bruce M. Selya, who left full-time bench duty in December 2006 when he assumed senior status. The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.

As they had the day that Mr. Bush nominated U.S. Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond to the federal District Court last month, Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse declined to be interviewed about Smith’s nomination.

Instead, the Rhode Island Democrats, who will enjoy much deference from their colleagues as the Senate weighs the nomination, issued a noncommittal joint statement.

“Rhode Islanders deserve to have highly qualified judges who are thoughtful and independent,” said Reed and Whitehouse. “Before giving someone a lifetime appointment to the federal bench we need to carefully review their record. We will be sure to give Judge Smith’s nomination thorough and independent review.”

Whitehouse suggested in September that the Senate should not consider any Bush appointment for the 1st Circuit or for the opening on Rhode Island’s federal court this late in the president’s term. Whitehouse backed off that position after Mr. Bush nominated Lincoln D. Almond to the local federal court last month — but he and Reed stopped far short of endorsing his confirmation.

Smith, who is called “Will” by many, was Warwick’s city solicitor when Republican Lincoln D. Chafee was mayor of that city. He subsequently served as staff director of Chafee’s Rhode Island Senate office during Chafee’s successful election campaign in 2000. In 2002, Chafee, who lost reelection last year, sponsored Smith for the U.S. District Court. Reed supported his confirmation.

The 1st Circuit, based in Boston, is the highest federal court in the region and hears appeals from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Puerto Rico.

A crucial part of a federal judicial nomination is its referral to the Judiciary Committee, which recommends to the full Senate whether to consent to the nomination.

The Judiciary Committee’s 19 members include 2 Democrats from the 1st Circuit, Whitehouse and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, and no Republicans from the court’s jurisdiction. The committee chairman is a Vermont Democrat, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy.

With Democrats in control of the Senate, and Republican Bush leaving office in January 2009, there is no guarantee that Smith’s nomination will move forward.

The ideological and political stakes for the appeals courts are high because their dockets carry a much bigger proportion of weighty constitutional issues than the federal trial courts. Because the vast majority of federal appeals cases never get to the U.S. Supreme Court, the appeals court is usually the last word on constitutional controversies that bubble up from the federal trial courts in its circuit.

The ideological battling over appeals court nominations has escalated over the years and has rarely been more polarized than during Mr. Bush’s presidency.

President Ronald Reagan appointed Selya to the appeals court in 1986 under the patronage of the late Sen. John H. Chafee, Lincoln Chafee’s father. As a constitutional matter, all federal judgeships are the president’s to award, with the consent of the Senate.

A Circuit Court of Appeals judgeship is a lifetime position, paying $175,000 annually.

Smith, 47, was born in Boise, Idaho, and graduated from Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law Center. He is married and has two children. He has worked at the Providence law firm of Edwards & Angell.

“My opinion of Will is that he never approaches a case with preconceived opinions,” said James J. Skeffington, longtime legal associate and supporter listed as a Smith contact on the White House biography. “He neither leans to the left nor to the right,” said Skeffington, a partner at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, an outgrowth of the former Edwards & Angell.

Skeffington noted that Smith, who will turn 48 on Dec. 31, “is young enough to make a lasting contribution to the court.” If confirmed by the Senate to the appeals court job, Smith would leave a second vacancy on the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island.

“It’s wonderful to have a Rhode Island judge on the first circuit,” said Skeffington, “and he’s likely to serve there for some time. That’s good for the judiciary and good for the state of Rhode Island.”

Another Smith supporter, former Republican Rep. Ronald K. Machtley, said the judge has a “unique blend” of traits that would be well-suited to the appeals court. Besides the requisite legal skills and competence as a judge, Machtley said, he has “a great ability to deal with attorneys as well as difficult cases.”

As a political matter, Machtley, now Bryant University president, said it is possible that “in the current climate” of ideological strife in Washington, Smith’s nomination could be bogged down in contention over more controversial choices for the federal judiciary.

“But with the recommendation of Senator Reed and Senator Whitehouse, I suspect that in this case Democrats would recognize that the people want judicial appointments handled according to the nominee’s qualities — rather than Republicans and Democrats squabbling about what makes political sense for them.”

Attempts to reach Smith last night were unsuccessful.

gwmiller@projo.com