Supreme Court

03/18/2005

Letter to the Editor - Supreme Court


Below is a letter I sent into the Daily Globe in response to today’s
editorial.

Debra Hogenson


-----Original Message-----
Letter to the Editor - Supreme Court

Your paper’s accusation (Daily Globe) of obstructionism by Senate Democrats shows a lack of understanding of democracy and the role of minority parties in preserving the checks and balances necessary for freedom to flourish.

In Bush’s first term Democrats approved 204 Bush judicial nominees and
blocked the appointment of a mere ten.  Bush says he intends to
renominate many of those previously rejected by the Senate.  It is worth
mentioning that Republicans refused to approve 60 Clinton judicial
candidates and rarely gave a reason.  But the issue is not which
political party has power or the role of the minority party.  The core
issue is insuring a competent and impartial judiciary.

Texas state judge Priscilla Owen’s nomination to the federal bench was
rightfully blocked in the Senate.  President Bush has renominated her
despite strong misgivings by many Senators regarding her bias and
competency.  Owen’s opinions on the Texas Supreme Court are extreme,
consistently dismissing well established consumer and worker rights.
Her willingness legislate from the bench and to rewrite the law in order
to achieve a particular result trouble even her fellow Republicans on
the court.  Alberto Gonzales, Bush’s attorney general, described one
decision by Judge Owen as “an unconscionable act of judicial activism.”


Terrance Boyle is another court nominee coming back to the Senate for a
second time.  Judge Boyle’s nomination was opposed by many Senators for
his tendency to issue decisions that were later reversed in appellate
court due to Boyle’s regrettable tendency to simply ignore law and
previous court precedent.  In one extreme decision Judge Boyle exempted
state agencies from the American’s with Disabilities Act on the premise
that working is “not a major life activity”.

A third example of the caliber of Bush’s judicial nominees is William
Pryor.  As Alabama Attorney General, Mr. Pryor urged Congress to repeal
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.  Attorney General Pryor is one of
the architects of the so-called “states’ rights” movement that seeks to
restrict the power of Congress to protect our civil and constitutional
rights.

The simplest way to resolve the conflict between Senate Democrats and
Senate Republicans is for President Bush to nominate conservative
moderates.  Federal judges wield enormous power.  It is not too much to
expect that judicial nominees secure at least the passive support of
sixty percent of the Senate before confirmation.

The problem is not that Democrats fail to comprehend President Bush’s
election; it is that President Bush does not understand the
constitutional limits to his power.  President Bush once remarked that
his job would be a heck of a lot easier if he could be a dictator.  He
is not.  Senate Democrats know that.  We wait to see if Senate
Republicans understand this distinction.

Debra Hogenson
Brewster
507-425-2656