Source:
CBS NEWS/The Politico Aug 2, 2007
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(The Politico) With the help of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.), appellate court nominee Leslie Southwick won approval Thursday from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
He was passed out of the committee on a 10-9 vote, giving Republicans a victory in what had become an increasingly bitter struggle over the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals seat in Mississippi.
Feinstein rejected objections from her fellow Democrats and liberal advocacy groups about Southwick's concurrence on several controversial civil and gay rights cases as a Mississippi Court of Appeals judge.
Through her conversations with Southwick, "what emerged was an appreciation on my part that Judge Southwick was a qualified, circumspect nominee," Feinstein said. "I don’t believe he is a racist. I believe he made a mistake. The question is does one ever overcome a mistake. Perhaps some do. I believe he is a good person."
Read more:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/02/politics/politico/thecrypt/main3129270.shtml
Could Senator Feinstein be right about Judge Southwick?