In Eleven-Day Recess, President Sidesteps Confirmation Process Again
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 2/24/2004
For the second time in five weeks President Bush placed a highly controversial judicial nominee on the federal bench. Announced late Friday, the appointment of William H. Pryor, Jr., to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit immediately drew consternation from a wide range of civil rights groups and members of congress, as well."Actions like this [appointment] show the American people that this White House will stop at nothing to try to turn the independent federal judiciary into an arm of the Republican Party," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "The White House has announced both recess appointments to the courts on Fridays, when they believe fewer Americans will notice. This time, the American people are watching."
More than 100 civil rights, workers' rights, women's rights, individual rights, environmental rights, and civil liberties groups, including the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, have opposed Pryor's confirmation since President Bush nominated him for the first time in 2002. Those opposed to the appointment cite Pryor's troubling record on the environment, women's rights, and civil rights. Senators who previously refused to confirm Pryor said his record disqualified him from the federal bench.
"Pryor's ideological agenda of limiting Congress's ability to pass laws aimed at protecting against discrimination and inequality should disqualify him from a lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary," said Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. "The recess appointment of William Pryor is a slap in the face to the cause of civil rights and shows profound disregard for the Senate's role of 'advice and consent."
Those in opposition to Pryor's confirmation maintain that during his tenure as Alabama attorney general, he demonstrated a commitment to rolling back the clock on federal protections against discrimination based on race, gender, age, and disability – not only through litigation, but also through amicus briefs and public speeches.
To date, the Senate has confirmed 171 of President Bush's judicial nominees, leaving the lowest vacancy rate on the federal bench in 13 years. Of the six nominees that have been blocked, President Bush has now placed two on federal benches by using recess appointments.
