Senate Obstructionists Target Another Judicial Nominee

One of the most important duties tasked to the President of the United States is nominating judges to sit on the federal courts.  As you know, the judicial confirmation process has been tainted by political obstructionists for some time now.  And, now, they are at it again.

President Bush has repeatedly put forth nominees to the federal judiciary who respect the Constitution and the rule of law.  You may recall the attacks levelled at a host of nominees including William Pryor and Janice Rogers Brown.  The obstructionists in the U.S. Senate have targeted extremely qualified judicial nominees in the past and now have their sights set on yet another nominee.

This time the nominee under attack is being considered for a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Fifth Circuit -- Judge Leslie Southwick.  Judge Southwick served honorably on the Mississippi Court of Appeals since its creation in 1995 and has been given a well-qualified rating by the American Bar Association -- a ranking that current Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy repeatedly has called "the gold standard."

Judge Southwick is eminently qualified for a seat on the 5th Circuit.  And, his record of service to this country is exemplary.  Judge Southwick is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Mississippi National Guard who sought and obtained an age waiver to join the Army Reserve in 1992 and in 2003 volunteered to transfer to a unit headed for frontline duty in Iraq, where he served from August 2004 to January 2006.
 
Judge Southwick is an accomplished jurist and a public servant who has constantly put service to his country ahead of his own well-being.  He is supremely qualified and unabashedly patriotic.  Yet Majority Leader Harry Reid and Judiciary Chairman Leahy and others in the Senate have attempted to derail this nomination by distorting his judicial record.  Judge Southwick holds a conservative judicial philosophy and believes the Constitution must be upheld, not re-written.  Instead of giving Judge Southwick a fair up-or-down vote in the Judiciary Committee -- a vote promised by Chairman Leahy -- the obstructionists on the committee continue to hold his nomination hostage, refusing to even give him a floor vote in the full Senate.
 
The ACLJ has been in the forefront for years ensuring that quality judges are nominated and confirmed for openings in the federal judiciary.  Sadly, the Senate obstructionists are playing political games with the nomination of Judge Southwick. 

ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow has directed the Washington team to engage in the effort to get Judge Southwick the up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate that he deserves.  It's another battle worth fighting.  And, we will keep you posted on the progress.