PFAW: Bush Judges Confirm Opponents' Fear (Ideologues on Bench)

[Demeter]

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/releases/025


Report Documents Impact of Bush-Nominated Appeals Court Judges

Federal appeals court judges nominated by President Bush are threatening and undermining Americans' rights and liberties, and working to reduce congressional authority to protect those rights and liberties, according to a legal analysis published today by People For the American Way Foundation.

.... Bush-nominated appellate judges wrote or joined opinions that:



Another damaging trend documented in the report is judges preventing, or advocating in dissent to prevent, individual Americans from having their day in court and presenting their claims to a jury. In a number of cases, Bush judges have been specifically criticized by their colleagues for improperly applying the summary judgment standard and denying plaintiffs their day in court despite the existence of important evidence supporting their claims, or for other reasons have tried to throw such cases out of court. Bush-nominated appeals court judges have written or joined opinions that have sought to:



It is important to note that decisions are included in this review based on objective criteria described below, not on whether PFAW Foundation agrees or disagrees with the opinions expressed. We do not take a position on every case, opinion, or ruling included in this report.

The report makes clear that judges who received strong bipartisan support have been much less likely to write or join opinions that seek to rewrite the law to damage Americans' rights. On the other hand, judges who received significant opposition and concern in the Senate -- like William Pryor, Janice Rogers Brown, Jeffrey Sutton, D. Brooks Smith, and Michael McConnell -- have often written or joined such troubling opinions.

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