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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 14, 2005

CFFJ HAILS RENOMINATIONS

(WASHINGTON, DC) – The President renominated twenty judicial nominees to the federal bench who had not received an up-or-down vote by the end of the Congressional session last December. Some nominees have waited over three years for a confirmation vote.

“The President has sent quite a Valentine’s Day card to Senate Democrats,” said Kay Daly, president of the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary, “And it clearly reads, ‘Stop obstructing my nominees’.”

According to a recent study by AEI (American Enterprise Institute), “The confirmation rate for Presidential nominees to federal appeals courts has fallen over the last 30 years from 93 percent under President Carter, to 89 percent under President Reagan, to 78 percent under George H.W. Bush, to 74 percent under Clinton, and now to 69 percent under President Bush.”

“’Advise and consent’ has now devolved into ‘obstruct and destroy’,” said Daly. “According to AEI, the length of time required to confirm a judicial nominee has gone from an average of 87 days under Carter Reagan and the first Bush Administration to 426 days under George W. Bush. While these judicial nominees are waiting in this political purgatory, they have the added joy of being subjected to a smear campaign courtesy of extremist organizations dedicated to undermining any nominee of this Administration.”

The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals is probably the best example of the obstruction tactics deployed by Senate Democrats. Long considered the “proving ground” for Supreme Court nominees, nominations to this important court during the Clinton years enjoyed an 80% confirmation rate. Under President Bush, only 33% of his DC Circuit Court nominations have been approved.

“The Senate must return to the constitutional confirmation of judges by a simple 51-vote majority,” said Daly. “Disagreeing with Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid should not mean a one-way ticket to a filibuster. For the sake of the federal judiciary, filibuster reform is critical.”

The Coalition for a Fair Judiciary (www.fairjudiciary.com) is a 501(C)4 organization comprised of more than 75 grassroots organizations dedicated to supporting qualified, capable federal judicial nominees who are committed to fair and accurate interpretation of existing law. The Coalition focuses on all federal judicial nominees, including nominees to the Court of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, and the Supreme Court.

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The following nominees were nominated today:

Court of Appeals:

Terrence W. Boyle (4th Circuit) (first nominated May 9, 2001)

Priscilla Richman Owen (5th Circuit) (first nominated May 9, 2001)

David W. McKeague (6th Circuit) (first nominated November 8, 2001)

Susan Bieke Neilson (6th Circuit) (first nominated November 8, 2001)

Henry W. Saad (6th Circuit) (first nominated November 8, 2001)

Richard A. Griffin (6th Circuit) (first nominated June 26, 2002)

William H. Pryor (11th Circuit) (first nominated April 9, 2003)

William Gerry Myers, III (9th Circuit) (first nominated May 15, 2003)

Janice Rogers Brown (District of Columbia Circuit) (first nominated July 25, 2003)

Brett M. Kavanaugh (District of Columbia Circuit) (first nominated July 25, 2003)

William James Haynes, II (4th Circuit) (first nominated September 29, 2003)

Thomas B. Griffith (District of Columbia Circuit) (first nominated May 10, 2004)

District Courts:

James C. Dever, III (Eastern District, North Carolina) (first nominated May 22, 2002)

Thomas L. Ludington (Eastern District, Michigan) (first nominated September 12, 2002)

Robert J. Conrad (Western District, North Carolina) (first nominated April 28, 2003)

Daniel P. Ryan (Eastern District, Michigan) (first nominated April 28, 2003)

Peter G. Sheridan (New Jersey) (first nominated November 5, 2003)

Paul A. Crotty (Southern District, New York) (first nominated September 7, 2004)

Sean F. Cox (Eastern District, Michigan) (first nominated September 10, 2004)

J. Michael Seabright (Hawaii) (first nominated September 15, 2004)

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