CNSNews.com - Senate Confirms Southwick to Appeals Court

October 24, 2007
By Melanie Hunter, CNSNews.com Senior Editor

(CNSNews.com) - In a vote of 59 to 38, the Senate Wednesday confirmed Judge Leslie Southwick to the federal appeals court in Mississippi despite opposition from liberal Democrats over his judicial record.

As Cybercast News Service previously reported, the Congressional Black Caucus denounced Southwick over what it saw as his "intolerant racial views and his fixed right-wing worldview."

While the American Center for Law and Justice applauded Southwick's confirmation, it called the judicial confirmation process "badly damaged."

"We're pleased that a majority in the Senate put politics aside and voted to confirm Judge Southwick," Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ, said in a statement. "It's disturbing, though, that it took so long for the Senate to follow its constitutional mandate: to advise and consent by giving Judge Southwick an up-or-down vote.

"While we're pleased that Judge Southwick has been confirmed, we're deeply troubled that the confirmation process for judicial nominees has been badly damaged by obstructionists who chose to play political games instead of carrying out their constitutional responsibilities in a timely manner," he said.

"Judge Southwick will serve the 5th Circuit well. But the way the Senate leadership acted in this matter did not serve the American people well," Sekulow added.

The CBC warned that Democrats who voted for Southwick would face backlash at election time. They pointed to Southwick's concurring opinion in two controversial cases: one involving the use of a racial slur in a workplace and the second involving the rights of homosexual parents.

"We regard this as a test," said D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

"I have had the privilege of serving as a judge and prosecutor prior to arriving in Congress, therefore I know that a judge is supposed to be impartial," said Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

"Yet Judge Southwick has had a questionable history on issues of equal opportunity and fairness. Judge Southwick has shown a history of racial intolerance in his court decisions, which makes him a bad choice for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. This circuit has the highest percentage of the minority residents in the United States," said Jones.

"Once again we see that the Bush administration is intent on politicizing judicial appointments, and pushing our system back to the era of Jim Crow. We have already seen how the current Supreme Court handles civil rights cases under Bush nominee Chief Justice John Roberts," she added.

"Confirming Judge Southwick, in the face of his bad record on civil rights, is a tremendous blow to our justice system," Jones said.

Southwick's supporters, however, said the Senate should have only considered his qualifications, not the history of the 5th Circuit, which includes Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

"If he was up for any other circuit, there would be no hesitancy," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee.