[JURIST] The US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Thursday approved North Carolina judge Terrence Boyle [US DOJ profile] for the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, effectively sending him to the full Senate for confirmation. Boyle survived a close party line vote in the GOP-controlled Committee, an approval that Senate Democrats have warned leaves judicial candidates susceptible to filibuster [text filibuster deal]. Though it is unclear if the Democrats plan to block Boyle, some senators and rights groups [NOW report] have been consistently outspoken in their opposition to the candidate whose record on civil, employee, and women's rights they find poor. An earlier Boyle nomination in 1991 was blocked by Democrats. AP has more.