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Owen Nomination Moves to Full Senate

Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 4/2/2003

The Senate Judiciary Committee has sent the controversial nomination of Priscilla Owen to the full Senate for a vote. Owen was re-nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Fifth Circuit by President Bush in January, 2003. Owen's first nomination, which was widely condemned by civil rights organizations and environmental and women's groups, was defeated in the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2002.

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) Executive Director Wade Henderson had urged Senate Judiciary Committee members to oppose the nomination. Henderson emphasized that, "Justice Owen's views on many important civil rights, women's rights and labor issues are far outside the mainstream of judicial thought, and her nomination seriously called into question President Bush's commitment to appoint federal judges who will interpret the law rather than make it."

Henderson also stressed the need for a nominee who would act as a guardian of civil rights. The Fifth Circuit serves the largest percentage of people of color of any Circuit Court in the country. This makes it particularly imperative that the court has justices committed to upholding laws pertaining to civil rights. Owen's initial hearing followed the Committee's rejection of Charles Pickering, who was also condemned for his record of indifference to civil rights.
Some of the most troubling spots in Owens record include:
  • In Quantum Chemical Corp. v. Toennies, 47 S.W.3d 473 (Tex. 2001), Owen effectively tried to rewrite a key Texas civil rights law to make it much more difficult for employees to prove a violation of their rights. The statute Owen would have weakened also prohibits many other forms of employment discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, sex, and disability.
  • In Helena Chemical Co. v. Wilkins, 47 S.W.3d 486 (Tex. 2001), Owen joined a dissent from the court's ruling in favor of a farmer in a suit brought against a seed manufacturer for deceptive trade practices and breach of warranty, which shows Owen's opinions consistently favor businesses over consumers and workers.
  • In Texas Workers Compensation Commission v. Garcia, 893 S.W. 2d 504 (Tex. 1994), Lawrence v. CDB Services, Inc., 44 S.W.3d 544 (Tex. 2001) and in Sonnier v. Chisholm-Ryder, Owen wrote or joined opinions that severely limited the ability of workers to recover for on-the-job injuries.