Testimony
Source: The Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Recipient: The Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Date: 05/10/07
Opening Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, at the Hearing on Judicial Nominations
The Committee today also considers the nomination of Leslie Southwick to the Fifth Circuit. With this nomination, I understand the disappointment of members of the African-American and civil rights communities that this Administration continues to renege on a reported commitment to appoint an African American to the Mississippi federal bench. In six years, President Bush has nominated only 19 African-American judges to the federal bench, compared to 53 African-American judges appointed by President Clinton in his first six years in office.
With an ever-growing pool of outstanding African-American lawyers in Mississippi, the State with the highest percentage of African Americans in the country, it is not as if there is a dearth of qualified candidates. Nonetheless, President Bush has now submitted 10 nominees to the federal bench in Mississippi, seven at the district level and three to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and none of these nominees has been African American. Our nation’s diversity is one of its greatest strengths, and I am disappointed that the President has missed yet another opportunity to reflect this great strength in our federal courts.
A review of Judge Southwick’s decisions on the Mississippi Court of Appeals has also revealed decisions on workplace racial discrimination and same-sex custody that raise questions in the minds of many. Today’s hearing gives Judge Southwick an opportunity to address those concerns.
