60 Groups Demand Judiciary Cmte Do Its Job on Judges, Wednesday, July 25, 2007, By Curt Levey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, July 25, 2007
CONTACT: Curt Levey, (202) 270-7748,

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, a coalition of about 60 organizations – including the Committee for Justice (CFJ) – delivered a letter to each of the 19 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing deep concern that the “lack of progress in reporting judicial nominees out of committee . . . has made it impossible for the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty of advice and consent in good faith.”

The letter reminds the senators that “[t]he American people want you to do your job, [including] processing and voting on the President’s judicial nominees.” It explains that “[t]he broken promises and personal attacks on nominees that have accompanied this inaction . . . only add to the public perception that your committee is not living up to its responsibilities.”

The coalition decries the fact that some of “the nominees are being subjected to obstruction borne of partisan politics” and cites as a prime example the “ugly campaign of character assassination” against Judge Leslie Southwick, an Iraq War veteran nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Southwick is rated “unanimously well-qualified” by the American Bar Association. “The American people will ask why you put the demands of [liberal] special interest groups above the fair treatment of a man who interrupted a highly successful career to serve his country in Iraq,” the letter notes.

The letter concludes by asking that Judiciary Committee members “allow the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty of advice and consent, by ensuring that each and every judicial nominee is given a hearing and is reported out of committee for consideration by the full Senate in a timely manner. . . . In other words, we ask only that you do your job by putting statesmanship above politics and special interests.”

“Special interest groups on the Left hold a lot of sway over Democratic senators on the judges issue,” explained CFJ executive director Curt Levey. “But it is the responsibility of Senate Democrats to stick to their earlier promises about confirming Judge Southwick, and it is the responsibility of Republican senators to fight for this exceptionally qualified nominee. That responsibility needs to start in the Judiciary Committee.”

Below is the full text of the letter, including a list of signers.

The Committee for Justice is a non-partisan, non-profit organization devoted to promoting constitutionalist judicial nominees and the rule of law.

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The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy

The Honorable Arlen Specter

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

The Honorable Sam Brownback

The Honorable Benjamin L. Cardin

The Honorable Tom Coburn

The Honorable John Cornyn

The Honorable Richard J. Durbin

The Honorable Russell D. Feingold

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein

The Honorable Lindsey Graham

The Honorable Charles E. Grassley

The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch

The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy

The Honorable Herb Kohl

The Honorable Jon Kyl

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer

The Honorable Jeff Sessions

The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse

United States

Senate

We and the organizations we represent are deeply concerned about the Senate Judiciary Committee’s lack of progress in reporting judicial nominees out of committee. This is particularly pronounced for U.S. Courts of Appeal nominees, and has made it impossible for the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty of advice and consent in good faith. The broken promises and personal attacks on nominees that have accompanied this inaction – as well as the unfairness of denying qualified nominees a fair up-or-down vote by the full Senate – only add to the public perception that your committee is not living up to its responsibilities.

That approval ratings for the 110^th Congress are among the lowest in history is a testament to the American people’s concern that their elected representatives are more interested in partisan politics and politically driven investigations than in making progress on the issues citizens really care about. The American people want you to do your job, and among the most important responsibilities of the Judiciary Committee are processing and voting on the President’s judicial nominees. We respectfully request that you take this responsibility seriously, including putting statesmanship above politics and special interests.

More than six months into this Congress, the Judiciary Committee has held hearings for only four appeals court nominees, and has voted on only three such nominees. At that pace, the Senate will fall far short of the historical average of 17 circuit court confirmations during a president’s last two years in office. That average was maintained during the Reagan, Bush I, and Clinton presidencies, despite the fact that the opposition party controlled the Senate. The American people expect no less from this Senate and do not want the Judiciary Committee to stand in the way. Fortunately, the historical average can be achieved if you and your colleagues are willing to eschew partisan politics in favor of fairness and fulfilling your constitutional duty.

Instead, five appeals court nominees – three of them waiting to fill vacancies declared “judicial emergencies” – and 14 district court nominees are languishing in the Judiciary Committee. Four additional appeals court nominations have just been announced. Several nominees have been waiting for more than a year for the committee to do its job. In some cases, the nominees are being subjected to obstruction borne of partisan politics. In other cases, the Judiciary Committee has fallen behind because it insists on holding hearings for judicial nominees just once a month.

Among those appeals court nominees being blocked in the Judiciary Committee is Judge Leslie Southwick, an Iraq War veteran rated “unanimously well-qualified” by the American Bar Association. Unfortunately, Judge Southwick has been the target of an ugly campaign of character assassination by liberal special interest groups. It is very telling that, despite sifting through nearly 7000 cases Southwick voted on during 12 years on the Mississippi Court of Appeals, his critics are basing their opposition on two opinions he didn’t write.

If the nomination of Leslie Southwick is allowed to die in committee, it will be a loss to both the federal bench and the reputation of the Judiciary Committee. The American people will ask why you put the demands of special interest groups above the fair treatment of a man who interrupted a highly successful career to serve his country in

Iraq

The impact of the judges issue on Senate campaigns in 2002 and 2004 demonstrated that the public is watching. Americans want to see progress rather than hear explanations for why you were unable to rise above politics. They do not want to hear that inaction in the Judiciary Committee is the White House’s fault for failing to name nominees for some of the vacancies. In fact, calls for the White House to speed up the pace of nominations are undercut when you allow those already nominated to languish in the Judiciary Committee.

The American people are equally unsympathetic to the claim that certain nominees cannot get a hearing because of the Judiciary Committee’s arcane “blue slip” policy. That policy is rightfully perceived as serving senators rather than the public. Because the policy exists entirely at the discretion of the committee chairman, blame for the resulting delays cannot credibly be laid outside the committee.

President Bush fulfilled his constitutional duty by nominating the outstanding men and women who await action in the Judiciary Committee. We respectfully request that you allow the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty of advice and consent, by ensuring that each and every judicial nominee is given a hearing and is reported out of committee for consideration by the full Senate in a timely manner. If you cannot support a particular nominee, vote him or her out of committee without a positive recommendation, or vote against confirmation. But please do not deny the nominee a fair up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. In other words, we ask only that you do your job by putting statesmanship above politics and special interests.

Committee for Justice

American Family Association of Pennsylvania

Vice President for Legislative Affairs

Christian Coalition of

America

Coalitions for

America

Coalition for a Fair Judiciary

Concerned Women for

America

President and Founder

Vice President of Government Affairs

Family Research Council

Senior Vice President of Government and Public Policy

Director of Special Projects

Illinois Citizens for Life

James Madison Center for Free Speech

Judicial Confirmation Network

Massachusetts Family Institute

Michigan Catholic Radio

Traditional Values Coalition

Alabama Policy Institute

American Civil Rights Union

American Family Association

American Family Association of Indiana

American Family Association of Michigan

Americans for the Preservation of Liberty

Center for Individual Freedom

Christian Civic League of Maine

Executive Director & CEO

Christian Legal Society

Citizens for Community Values

Citizens for a Constitutional Republic

Coalition for Marriage and Family

Cornerstone Policy Research

Exodus International

Family Foundation of Kentucky

Family Leader Network

President and General Counsel

Florida Family Policy Council

Free Market Foundation

Idaho Values Alliance

Executive Vice President of Programming

Inspiration Networks

Director of Litigation

Liberty Legal Institute

Dean and Professor of Law

Liberty University School of Law

Life Coalition International

Mississippi Center for Public Policy

National Center for Public Policy Research

National Legal Foundation

Natural Rights and Laws Compact

Pastor Russell Johnson

Ohio Restoration Project

Point of View radio talk show

Dr. Rick Scarborough

Vision

America

Action

Assistant Professor of Law (Catholic University of

America

)

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