Reply #8: Pryor Casts Key Vote in Gay Adoption Case [View All]

[Nyx]

Offered without further comment, lest I start foaming at the mouth:

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1090180159001

Until Wednesday afternoon, the significance of Judge William H. Pryor Jr.'s recess appointment to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was largely symbolic.

His appointment by President Bush outraged senators who objected to Pryor's record on issues such as gay rights, abortion and federalism. As Alabama attorney general, Pryor defended statutes criminalizing homosexual sodomy, spoke out against decisions legalizing abortion and won cases trimming congressional power over the states.

Democrats blocked a vote on his nomination, but the president's recess appointment will allow him to be on the court through 2005.

Since Pryor joined the bench in February, his decisions have reflected the largely uncontroversial, everyday work of federal courts.

But now Pryor has made an impact in the type of case that concerned his opponents. On Wednesday, he provided a key vote against three homosexual couples challenging Florida's law banning adoption by gays and lesbians.

<more>