Senate to Consider Judge Southwick Nomination

On the heels of Jennifer Elrod's confirmation to the 5th Circuit comes word that Judge Leslie Southwick will get a floor vote this week in the United States Senate, either on Wednesday or Thursday.  As we told you this summer, Judge Southwick is up for a seat on the 5th Circuit as well after serving for 11 years on the Mississippi Court of Appeals.  What is so compelling about Judge Southwick is his life story.  Not only is he a well-respected judge, having received a unanimous "Well Qualified" rating from the American Bar Association (the gold standard for nominees), Judge Southwick took a military leave of absence from the Court of Appeals to serve in Iraq as a member of the Mississippi National Guards 155th Brigade Combat.  While on active duty, he served as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate from August 2004 to July 2005 and then as Staff Judge Advocate from July 2005 to January 2006. 

From the moment he was nominated, the groups on the Left have fought Southwick's nomination, using their well-worn attacks of racism and homophobia that stalled previous nominees for the 5th Circuit.  In an open letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy and Ranking Member Arlen Specter, the Human Rights Campaign and People for the American Way call Southwick's judicial temperament highly disturbing and strongly suggest that Southwick may lack commitment to social justice progress.  Imagine their surprise when Senator Diane Feinstein, usually a strong ally of the Left, voted for Judge Southwick in committee back on August 2nd, giving his nomination enough votes to send it to the Senate floor.  When asked to explain her vote, Feinstein cited Southwick's ABA rating and his service in Iraq.

Right now, Drew Ryun in our Government Affairs office tells me that Southwick has the simple majority of votes that he would need to get confirmed.  The biggest question is to see whether or not Majority Leader Harry Reid insists that Southwick's nomination clear the cloture hurdle of 60 votes.  If he does, then Reid has called for a filibuster of this highly qualified nominee.  That would be a major move by the Democrats and one that may turn up the heat in the judicial confirmation battles.  Senator Arlen Specter has already promised legislative retribution if Southwick's nomination continues to get stonewalled.  It could be an interesting week in the United States Senate.

We will keep you posted.