Pickering Nomination Defeated
Feature Story by Suzanne Lee - 3/14/2002
Washington, D.C. - The verdict is in. In the first showdown between President Bush and the Senate Democrats over judicial nominations, the Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee voted down the nomination of Charles W. Pickering to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals as expected after months of wrangling. There had been two delays on the vote before the final decision on March 14.There has been controversy swirling around the Mississippi district court judge since President Bush announced his nomination in June. Several civil rights groups expressed concerns over his conservative civil rights record and the unusually low number of published opinions, particularly in the context of the nomination. People for the American Way, Alliance for Justice, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and dozens of other national organizations have repeatedly expressed concerns over the impact of his influence on the Fifth Circuit of the United States, which has the largest percentage of minorities than any other circuit. The U.S. circuit courts are also one step away from the United States Supreme Court, the highest court in the federal judicial system.
Since Pickering's second Senate confirmation hearing in February, the dispute over the nomination has spread beyond the Senate Judiciary Committee. The nomination has sharply divided the entire Senate along party lines, causing Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) to pronounce that he would not allow the nomination to reach the Senate floor without the committee's approval. The opposition to Pickering, which has been intense and ever-expanding, has been expressed in national newspapers almost daily for the past several weeks and on nationally syndicated radio shows. Letters to the committee have also been pouring from the Fifth Circuit, urging the rejection of Pickering.
On the flip side, Pickering's supporters continued to defend him until the very end. Just before the vote took place during the March 14th executive meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), one of his staunchest supporters, criticizing the opposition to Pickering as being purely ideological. Hatch, the ranking Republican member of the committee, delayed the vote a week before in an attempt to muster more support for the nomination.
The day before the vote took place, President Bush defended his choice for the Fifth Circuit Court and urged a full vote on the Senate floor. The President also accused Democratic members of the Senate committee of trying to block conservative nominees: "The Senate has an obligation to provide fair hearings and prompt votes to all nominees, no matter who controls the Senate or who controls the White House. By failing to allow full Senate votes on judicial nominees, a few senators are standing in the way of justice."
The Democrats of the Senate Judiciary Committee cited the far-right nature of Pickering as the reason behind his defeat. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) warned against having judges that are too far left or right and called for moderate nominees. He criticized Bush for following through on his promise to nominate judges "in the same mold as [Supreme Court Justices] Scalia and Thomas."
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights echoed Schumer's sentiments. Executive director Wade Henderson responded to the vote handed down by the Senate Judiciary Committee: "LCCR strongly believes that the composition of the federal judiciary is a civil rights issue of profound importance to all Americans, because the individuals charged with dispensing justice in our society have a direct impact on civil rights protections for us all. As such, the federal judiciary must be perceived by the public as an instrument of justice, and the individuals who are selected for this branch of government must be the embodiment of fairness and impartiality. This nation requires jurists who will have a moderating influence on the Court. The Leadership Conference stands ready to work with President Bush to confirm such nominees."
The 10-9 decision demonstrated just how sharply divided the Senate committee is on the matter of the federal courts. Though the case of Charles Pickering is the first significant battle over the federal courts, it is likely just the beginning. Currently there are twenty-one circuit court nominations pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee. More importantly, at least three Supreme Court justices are considering retirement from the highest court in the United States. If that comes to pass, and the President continues to nominate candidates so far from the mainstream, this nation could be heading toward a full-blown war over judicial nominations.
