A New Year brings New Judicial Challenges

As 2008 gets underway, it's important to take a moment to realize that there's still quite a bit at stake in Washington with respect to the nomination and confirmation of federal judges.  One of the most respected Supreme Court reporters, David Savage of the Los Angeles Times, has written a very enlightening story about the issue of judges during the Bush administration.

The story indicates that President Bush is leaving his mark on the federal judiciary.

Here's a brief excerpt from that story:

"President Bush has named 294 judges to the federal courts, giving Republican appointees a solid majority of the seats, including a 60%-to-40% edge over Democrats on the influential U.S. appeals courts.  The rightward shift on the federal bench is likely to prove a lasting legacy of the Bush presidency, since many of these judges -- including his two Supreme Court appointees -- may serve for two more decades.  And despite the Republicans' loss of control of the Senate, 40 of Bush's judges won confirmation this year, more than in the previous three years when Republicans held the majority."

The fact is that judges do matter.  As President Bush enters his final year in office, it's important to understand that the issue of confirming judicial nominees who uphold the Constitution and abide by the rule of law is still very important.  At the same time, the issue of judges is likely to become one of the dominant issues of this election year.  At the ACLJ, we remain committed to working to ensure that judicial nominees who are dedicated to following the Constitution and the rule of law get fair treatment - which ultimately means an up-or-down vote before the full Senate.  They deserve nothing less.