During the Judicial Service Commission's second round of interviews in Cape Town yesterday, Noluthando Conjwa was questioned about her taking 14 months to deliver a judgment.
Another candidate, Valerie Gqiba, was grilled in connection with allegations of "exorbitant, questionable and unauthorised subsistence claims" and a R12000 per diem she was not entitled to when she attended a "fully paid" conference overseas in 1999.
But Gqiba assured the commission she had repaid all the money.
Another hopeful, Mandisa Kahla, was quizzed about being fined by the law society.
In addition to the grilling by the commission, the Eastern Cape Bar made harsh submissions on all three women.
It did not support Conjwa's nomination, recommending that she gain more experience on the high court bench or focus on "self-development".
As for Gqiba and Kahla, the bar expressed concern about their "lack of experience" in dealing with civil cases.
"Why don't you gain more experience, more acting stints so you can become more experienced?" asked commission member Koos van der Merwe.
Conjwa replied: "I have had opportunities to act in the high court and I believe that with the stints I've had, I've been able to gain some experience."
Van der Merwe hit back: "You seem to forget you took 14 months to deliver a judgment."
Asked by commissioner Izak Smuts to explain how she could have been under the impression that she was entitled to the R12000 advance when she attended a conference organised by the Danish Centre for Human Rights in Copenhagen, Gqiba responded: "I thought I was entitled, at the time, to the per diem that everyone gets when they go out of the country."
Two more candidates - Advocate Sharon Erasmus and Bulelwa Pakati - were interviewed for a vacancy on the bench of the Northern Cape High Court.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 
