Free Republic

During the hearings on the Supreme Court nomination of Justice Sam Alito, a good and decent man, the American public saw the raw, ugly underside of the judicial confirmation battle: Ted Kennedy's self-righteous, judgmental, holier-than-thou grilling of Judge Alito, and Mrs. Alito's obvious hurt over how her husband was treated. With good lawyers making far more money than federal judges, with nominees now facing a virtual firing squad at confirmation, it is no wonder studies now show half of those approached about being nominated to the federal judiciary say "no thanks." And it is not surprising the "brightest and best"...

...Mr. Lord is at pains to note that, although Judge Smith is less known than other judicial nominees who have come under "borking" assault -- think of William Pryor, Miguel Estrada, Janice Rogers Brown and Charles Pickering -- his experience offers a kind of template of abuse: Activist groups unearth whatever harmful details they can find, no matter how dubious; they gin them up into screaming charges; the charges in turn get picked up by reporters, eager to keep pace with a potential "controversy," and by politicians, eager to find any stick with which to beat a "dangerous" nominee from...

Louisville, Ky. – A retired federal judge whose promotion to an appellate court was blocked by a Senate filibuster called the tactic unconstitutional and said it should be ended permanently if it is used again. Charles Pickering of Mississippi made the comments in Louisville's Highview Baptist Church, a few hours before a rally was to start aimed at getting churchgoers to protest the filibuster of nominees for the federal judiciary. "Justice Sunday," organized by the conservative Family Research Council, was scheduled to feature a videotaped speech by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist rallying churchgoers to protest the filibuster tactic. Other...

Judge Charles Pickering could learn soon whether he'll be confirmed for a federal appeals court post, a doubtful prospect for the jurist accused of being racially insensitive and anti-abortion by Democrats in the U.S. Senate. If the Senate doesn't confirm Pickering before it adjourns in December, he'll be forced to retire from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, a post he currently holds by a recess appointment.

JACKSON, Miss. Federal appeals Judge Charles Pickering could learn soon whether he'll be confirmed for his seat on the Fifth U-S Circuit Court of Appeals.If the Senate doesn't confirm Pickering before it adjourns next month, he'll be forced to retire from the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans. He currently fills the seat under a recess appointment from President Bush. The Senate has confirmed 204 of the president's judicial nominees. There are 22 nominations pending, including Pickering's. But Pickering's confirmation has been doubtful. Senate Democrats have threatened a filibuster against Pickering's confirmation. They accuse him of supporting segregation as a...

To resolve any concern that I would block pro-life judicial nominees, take a look at my record. I have consistently opposed any litmus test. I have backed that up by voting to confirm pro-life nominees including Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Justice Anthony Kennedy. I led the fight to confirm Justice Clarence Thomas, which almost cost me my Senate seat in 1992. I have voted for all of President Bush's judicial nominees in committee and on the floor. The current controversy was artificially created by incorrect reporting. I never "warned" the president on...

As they have done to many Bush administration judicial nominees, the Democrats have accused Charles Pickering of having a "poor record on civil rights." Ostensibly because of this, they blocked his nomination from coming to the Senate floor. In response, President Bush has given Pickering a recess appointment, which allows him to sit on the appellate bench until a new Congress is sworn in next January, at which point the usual accusations of racism will start all over again. A March 28th 60 Minutes piece, reported by Mike Wallace, summarized the judge's record on race, and it so sharply contrasts...

<p>For two years, Federal District Court Judge Charles Pickering, a Mississippi Republican, has suffered continuous character assassination by Senate Democrats who have filibustered his nomination by President Bush to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is on that bench now only because of a temporary recess appointment.</p>

<p>I have seldom seen a more sustained, damaging campaign of character assassination than the attacks on federal Judge Charles Pickering by Senate Democrats and such groups as People for the American Way and the Alliance for Justice. His nomination to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals by the president has been filibustered by the Democrats, and he is now on that bench temporarily through a recess appointment.</p>

A 60 Minutes Miracle By Paul Beston I was all set to turn off 60 Minutes last night after its first segment -- a too-brief and entirely anticlimactic interview with Condoleezza Rice -- but if I had, I would have missed a small miracle. Judge Charles Pickering finally got the public hearing he deserved, and the competence, courage, and decency of the man shined through. Pickering was nominated by President Bush to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2001, but his appointment was blocked by Senate Democrats through 2003. Finally in January of this year, Bush made a...

I was all set to turn off 60 Minutes last night after its first segment -- a too-brief and entirely anticlimactic interview with Condoleezza Rice -- but if I had, I would have missed a small miracle. Judge Charles Pickering finally got the public hearing he deserved, and the competence, courage, and decency of the man shined through. Pickering was nominated by President Bush to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2001, but his appointment was blocked by Senate Democrats through 2003. Finally in January of this year, Bush made a recess appointment for Pickering. But when that...

I was all set to turn off 60 Minutes last night after its first segment -- a too-brief and entirely anticlimactic interview with Condoleezza Rice -- but if I had, I would have missed a small miracle. Judge Charles Pickering finally got the public hearing he deserved, and the competence, courage, and decency of the man shined through. Pickering was nominated by President Bush to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2001, but his appointment was blocked by Senate Democrats through 2003. Finally in January of this year, Bush made a recess appointment for Pickering. But when that...

<p>With charges of racial insensitivity marring his recent appointment to a federal appeals court, Judge Charles Pickering Sr. tells his side of the story Sunday on CBS's 60 Minutes.</p> <p>The TV news magazine airs in the Jackson area on WJTV-Channel 12, starting at 6 p.m. Pickering is interviewed by Mike Wallace.</p>

<p>HEBRON — Charles Pickering, settling on a couch, surveys the interior of his cyprus farmhouse, from the carefully mounted deer heads and stuffed mallards to the dozens of family photographs hung squarely on the walls.</p> <p>The dark corridor behind him leads to a spotless cast iron tub, unused pear-shaped soap and a neatly folded hand towel.</p>

goes without saying that the mantra of The New York Times Editorial Pages is "All the Leftist Propaganda That’s Fit to Print." But sometimes the newspaper’s transparent knee-jerk liberalism shocks even us. Take, for example, the Gray Lady’s political hypocrisy when it comes to appointment of federal judges: Three years ago, when Bill Clinton bypassed the confirmation process by appointing Roger Gregory to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit while the Senate was in recess, the Times’ Editorial Board praised that President’s decisive action, stating that "Clinton rightly moved to address … the refusal by Congress to...

Judge Charles Pickering's exhausting journey to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a cause celebre for the Mississippi Republican Party. People shouldn't expect the talk about it to die down just because President Bush made an end-run around congressional Democrats and installed Pickering on the appeals bench Jan. 16. If anything, the GOP is now ideally situated to gain from the Pickering predicament. Republicans got what they wanted, because the 66-year-old judge - a former state senator, former head of the Mississippi Baptist Convention and former U.S. District Court judge - is serving on the court that handles...

The Hatch problem. President Bush's recess appointment of Judge Charles Pickering to the Fifth Circuit follows a string of other actions that make it clear: When it comes to the judge battle, the gloves are off. Unfortunately, Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch hasn't gotten the memo. Hatch's politeness and charity towards his Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, often the source of frustration for conservatives in Washington, is now acutely damaging to the struggle to get conservative judges onto the federal bench. Specifically, Hatch's eagerness to comply with the Democratic witch-hunt — cooked up to draw attention away from embarrassing memos...

<p>January 23, 2004 -- Let's state at the outset that we're not enamored of "recess" appointments, whereby a president appoints an office-holder while Congress is not in session, allowing the official to hold the job for one year.</p> <p>Too often, such appointments are used simply to evade congressional confirmation. Bill Clinton was a serial abuser, and we criticized him whenever he did it.</p>

<p>Minority members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are prepared to "express their concerns" Thursday about President Bush's decision to recess appoint Charles Pickering (search) to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Democratic sources on the committee told Fox News.</p> <p>Even as Democrats prepare to cooperate on the Senate floor and decline to filibuster the long-awaited omnibus spending bill, four Democrats on the panel are planning to bring up the issue of Pickering's appointment at the top of a hearing to confirm several non-controversial Bush nominees, the sources said.</p>

<p>In bypassing Congress and giving Judge Charles Pickering a recess appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals, President Bush has partially righted a wrong that was done to a decent and honorable man. By giving Judge Pickering the recess appointment, which expires with this Congress next January, Mr. Bush circumvents the Senate confirmation process, in which Democrats have filibustered the Pickering nomination. This does not sit well with leading Democratic presidential candidates, among them Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who criticized Mr. Bush's decision and scolded Judge Pickering as someone who "regularly put his personal views above the law in civil rights cases."</p>