Senate Confirms Judge Opposed by Democrats:
Judge Southwick’s critics have pointed to some of his decisions as a Mississippi state appeals court judge. In one case, he upheld the reinstatement with back pay of a white state employee who had used a racial epithet about another worker; in another, he joined a majority opinion that denied a bisexual mother custody of her child.
But Judge Southwick’s supporters have said he is eminently qualified, intellectually and personally. He served on the Mississippi Court of Appeals from January 1995 through December 2006 and was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Civil Division from 1989 to 1993. He is now a visiting professor at the Mississippi College School of Law, where he has been an adjunct professor since 1998. In 2005, he served in Iraq as a member of the Mississippi National Guard.
Senator Dianne Feinstein of California was a key Democratic supporter. She provided the deciding vote in the Judiciary Committee, which endorsed Judge Southwick by 10 to 9 in August. The senator called the judge “a qualified, sensitive and circumspect person” and anything but a racist.
Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, called the confirmation “a slap in the face to African-Americans and people of good will.” Despite Senator Reid’s statement about the judge, Mr. Henderson said Mr. Reid was responsible for allowing the judge to be confirmed.
“The majority leader was in control of this process from the time Southwick’s nomination left the Judiciary Committee,” Mr. Henderson said. He called the vote “one of those inside-the-Beltway Senate deals between Democrats and Republicans in which they sacrificed the interests of some in furtherance of comity between the parties — let’s just be real about this , that’s just what this is.”
Other opposition came from the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the A.F.L.-C.I.O.
By: Christy Hardin Smith
In In reviewing the votes from cloture to passage on Southwick, the following three Senators voted for cloture, but not for the nominee:
Carper, Thomas R.- (D - DE)
Inouye, Daniel K.- (D - HI)
Salazar, Ken- (D - CO)
I’d like an explanation. And it had better not just be “comity” or “go along to get along” or “they promised to vote for our budget…only until the President vetoes it, that is” that put Southwick into a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. Because that is not good enough. Not by a long shot.
And while I’m at it, what in the hell was
Ben Nelson of Nebraska doing cutting a deal on Southwick behind the scenes with Trent Lott? And why is it that the Democratic leadership
continues to get its ass kicked on whip counts and back-door deals by the GOP?
<...>
<...>Beyond the spending bills, Nelson and Lott appealed to Senators to keep the judicial process from falling into gridlock by supporting today’s procedural motion to bring Southwick’s confirmation to the floor for an up-or-down vote on the merits. That was the argument made in 2005 when both Nelson and Lott were involved in the creation of the bipartisan “Gang of 14,” which brokered a deal to stave off filibusters of stalled Bush administration judicial nominees except under “extraordinary circumstances.”
Those familiar with the bargaining on Southwick said Lott was at the heart of the discussions, but on Tuesday the Minority Whip offered little detail beyond acknowledging that Democratic support for Southwick likely would be returned in kind. He added that bipartisan cooperation on the confirmation could serve as the catalyst to stop the Senate from “continuing to spiral into partisan political bickering.”…
In case anyone is wondering, yes, I am peevish. Because the Nelson quote at the end there truly is the most naive and idiotic thing I have heard all week — especially given the veto threats still looming out there for each and every budget question that still has to pass the House and Senate. Comity my ass…
:
The seat on the 5th Circuit, which includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, has been vacant for nearly three years. Southwick, 57, is a former state judge and the third person tapped to fill it. He will be based in Mississippi.
Southwick became the latest target of efforts by both parties and a range of advocacy groups to highlight the impact federal judges — especially those who sit on the Supreme Court — can have on a range of hot-button social issues such as abortion, gay marriage and free speech.
The Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly approved Southwick's nomination in August, with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, providing the deciding vote.
Race has played a role in the president's controversial efforts to fill this particular seat. Each of the three nominees, including Southwick, are white, and each has been accused of racist views or insensitivity to civil rights.
No African-American has ever been nominated from Mississippi, despite it having a 37 percent black population, one of the highest percentages in the United States.
by James Oliphant
It passed for the hottest judicial nomination controversy going, even if it paled in comparison to congressional wars over previous nominees.
But regardless, it's all over now. The Senate confirmed Judge Leslie Southwick this morning to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circui, by a 59-38 count. Nine Democrats joined a unanimous Republican bloc in approving Southwick.
The vote is a setback for African-American interest groups and other civil rights advocates, which urged Democrats to bounce Southwick, saying he was pro-business and hostile to gay rights. They contended that a federal appeals judge in the Deep South should have an unblemished record on civil rights. But once his nomination cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee (thanks largely to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.), Southwick's confirmation seemed assured.
The White House hailed the vote. "The confirmation of Judge Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a victory for America's judicial system and for the citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas," President Bush said in a statement. "Today's bipartisan vote resolves a long-standing judicial emergency and will help ensure that the Fifth Circuit can operate more effectively."
moreWednesday, October 24, 2007
CONTACT: Amy Brundage, 202 228 5511
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement on the Senate’s vote to confirm Judge Leslie Southwick, of Mississippi, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Obama opposed Southwick’s nomination.
“The American people deserve a court system that upholds civil rights and the Constitution. Unfortunately, this Administration has placed partisanship and rigid ideology ahead of our most basic rights. Leslie Southwick's nomination is the latest example of this dangerous trend, and I am extremely disappointed in the Senate's decision to approve this nomination.
“As a Mississippi state court judge, Southwick has shown hostility toward civil rights and a disregard for equal rights for minorities, women, gays and lesbians. During his hearing before the Senate, Southwick could not find one case – in his 7,000 opinions – in which he sided with a civil rights plaintiff in a non-unanimous verdict.
“From the Jena 6 to the recent Roberts/Alito court ruling on school integration to this confirmation, now more than ever we need to restore integrity and a commitment to civil rights in the courts. I strongly oppose this nomination, and will fight any other Bush nominations that threaten the very basis of our freedom and democracy.”
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