CBC Joins in Opposition to Pickering
Feature Story by Suzanne Lee - 2/7/2002
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 6?The Congressional Black Caucus of the 107th United States Congress is the latest organization to oppose President Bush's nomination of Charles Pickering to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a press conference, the CBC, comprised of a number of African-American members of Congress, voiced its objection to Pickering's civil rights record as a member of the Mississippi state Senate and as a judge for the Southern District of Mississippi. All together six CBC members spoke individually on the matter.Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), the chair of the CBC, started off the press conference by emphasizing the importance of the Fifth Circuit, which is comprised of Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, as it has the highest percentage of minorities in all thirteen circuits. This accounts for 43% of the country's population.
Based on Pickering's history in the areas of voting rights, equal pay, civil rights, women's reproductive rights, and interracial marriages, Johnson urged the Senate to reject his nomination: "His record...indicates that he will not be fair to the major part of the population."
Speaker after speaker spoke out against Pickering's nomination, bringing up his record on the bench. "He has a consistent record of hostility," said Virginia Rep Bobby Scott (D-VA). Furthermore, Rep. Scott cited the unusually high number of unpublished court opinions by Judge Pickering that have not been made available as a serious obstacle in determining a complete picture of his tenure on the bench.
Charles W. Pickering, Sr. is the first Bush judicial nominee that has been openly opposed by the CBC.
