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WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Judge Leslie Southwick to the federal appeals court in Mississippi despite complaints by some Democrats that decisions he supported were racially insensitive and inappropriate for a region still shadowed by civil rights struggles. The 59-38 vote on confirmation was sealed after the nomination survived its main obstacle, a test tally moments earlier. Majority Democrats pressured by labor unions and other constituencies did not have the votes to filibuster, or block, Southwick's confirmation. The Congressional Black Caucus warned that there would be consequences for Democrats at the ballot box. "We regard this as...

Latino advocacy groups are pleased; DNC stays mum WASHINGTON — President Bush has had more Hispanics confirmed for federal judgeships than any president in U.S. history, a record that earns him praise from Hispanic organizations but is downplayed by the Democratic National Committee.

BEFORE BEING nominated by President Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, Leslie H. Southwick served for almost 12 years on the Mississippi Court of Appeals, where he participated in thousands of cases spanning the gamut of civil and criminal law. A panel of the American Bar Association unanimously found Judge Southwick to be "well qualified" for the promotion, its highest ranking. Yet congressional opponents have latched on to two opinions that Mr. Southwick joined, but did not write, to argue that he is unfit for the federal appeals post. ... Adding to the discomfort of...

Two 50-something men who wear black robes, rarely speak in public and remain unrecognizable to most Americans are turning up in campaign playbooks from Oregon to Maine. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito may well become the bogeymen of 2008. Their decisions in the last term on abortion, school desegregation and pay equity angered pillars of the Democratic constituency, already prompting Senate campaigns and issue advocates to invoke the Supreme Court in fundraising pitches and attacks on Republican incumbents. “When you are dealing with hypotheticals, when you talk about civil rights, privacy, Roe v....

Most of the shortlists for the Supreme Court being bandied about (including ours) are predicated on the assumption that Bush is most interested in appointing a radical right-wing justice in the mold of Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas. That idea is supported by the names most often mentioned by the White House and people close to it. But what if the president decided to look instead for a conservative in the traditional sense of the word, a distinguished jurist who believes in moderation, judicial restraint, and deference to Congress? A shortlist that emphasized those qualities might include the following:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) surprised both liberal and conservative activists Thursday by voting with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to move a controversial conservative judicial nominee to the Senate floor. Feinstein voted with nine Republicans to pass Leslie Southwick, President Bush’s nominee to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, despite the objections of Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and members of the Democratic leadership who sit on the panel. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), a member of the Democratic leadership team, both voted against Southwick. Feinstein’s support for Southwick is surprising because she...

The Senate Judiciary Committee on a 10-9 vote approved former Mississippi State Judge Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The dramatic cliff-hanger of a vote on Southwick came after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who had deferred to Mississippi senators on setting a vote on the controversial nomination, suddenly added the Mississippi nominee to today's schedule. Democrats, under pressure from interest groups, were largely opposed to Southwick because of some controversial opinions had had concurred with involving racial and gay issues. But Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., decided to vote for Southwick, joining...

Dianne Feinstein just announced that she will vote for Judge Southwick in committee, and – after some whining by Sens. Durbin and Kennedy – the nominee was reported out 10-9 with a positive recommendation.

You’ve probably never heard of Rebecca Nurse, but bear with me for a moment. Nurse arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1640. There, despite being known as a woman of virtue and piety, she was accused of being a witch. On July 19, 1692, she was hanged. Now almost 315 years to the day later, one of Nurse’s ancestors is suffering through a witch hunt of a more modern variety. I’m talking about Judge Leslie Southwick, whose nomination to the long-standing vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is being thwarted by Senate Democrats. Sadly, Judge...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats on Wednesday threatened to block Republicans from forcing a vote on a Mississippi judge in a new fight in the well-trod arena of judicial confirmations. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would move to kill the Republicans' symbolic resolution calling for a vote of the full Senate on the appeals court nomination of Leslie Southwick of Mississippi. The motion could come as early as Thursday. Democratic leaders wanted to wait to see if the nomination survived a Thursday session of the Senate Judiciary Committee, several officials said. Republicans said any vote on Southwick's...

Schumer says No More Judges for Bush By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., July 30, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - President Bush can expect to make no more Supreme Court judicial appointments "except in extraordinary circumstances" according to Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). "We should reverse the presumption of confirmation. The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance," Schumer said Friday at the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. "We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito." Schumer and other Democrats fear that another justice like Justice Alito could presage the...

The Upcoming Presidential Election Should Be All About The Supreme Court for Social Conservatives Big Trouble We are in big trouble. Whether you consider the historical cycle of presidential elections; the results of the 2006 election; the mood of the country; or the unfavorable ratings of the President, the odds are that conservatives will have our heads handed to us on a silver platter in 2008. Unless our movement gets its act together quickly and gets on the same page, one thing is for sure-- we are in big trouble. No Perfect Candidate Many conservatives are frustrated by the field...

Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer said Friday that the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush "except in extraordinary circumstances.” "We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington, reported The Politico. "The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.”...........................

New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinary circumstances.” “We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.”

New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinary circumstances.” “We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.” Schumer’s assertion comes as Democrats and liberal advocacy groups are increasingly complaining that the Supreme Court with Bush’s nominees – Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice...

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared that his decision not to lead a successful filibuster in January 2006 of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's nomination was one of his "greatest failings" as a senator. In an address to liberal legal scholars of the American Constitution Society, Schumer said that after watching the work of the newly constructed "Roberts court" the past 18 months, he would block any future Supreme Court nominee of President Bush's should a vacancy arise between now and January 2009. Schumer's address covered his views on the confirmation processes for Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts. Conservatives have...

Democrat charges U.S. justices "duped" Senate By Thomas Ferraro1 hour, 17 minutes ago U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito "duped" the U.S. Senate into confirming them, a top Democratic lawmaker charged on Friday, days after a key Republican questioned if they had lived up to their promises. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, a member of the Judiciary Committee that held hearings on the two, said they staked out moderate positions in congressional testimony but became part of a conservative bloc that issued restrictive rulings on issues from free speech to civil rights. Schumer, in...

New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinary circumstances.” “We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.” Schumer said there were four lessons to be learned from Alito and Roberts: Confirmation hearings are meaningless, a nominee’s record should be weighed more heavily than rhetoric,...

New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinary circumstances.” “We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.” Schumer’s assertion comes as Democrats and liberal advocacy groups are increasingly complaining that the Supreme Court with Bush’s nominees – Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice...

Liberal Senators Complaining About “Obstructionism" on Iraq Legislation Use the Same Tactics They Now Condemn to Block Judicial Nominees Project 21 members say the liberal Senate leadership, which has embarked on an overnight session to "highlight Republican obstructionism" on consideration to legislation to withdraw troops from Iraq, is hypocritical, as these senators have used the same tactics they now condemn to block the confirmation of President Bush's judicial nominations over the past six-and-a-half years. "The immoral duplicity of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his henchmen once again unambiguously shows there are no depths too low for liberal politicians to...

If the Democrats win the White House in 2008 and hold on to, or expand, their senatorial majority, the Democratic President will almost certainly get to replace at least two and quite possibly three Justices during her first term: Stevens, Ginsburg and Souter. Justice Kennedy and the conservative quartet are unlikely to retire voluntarily under a Democratic President. Tom Goldstein of SCOTUS Blog has made a study of the possible Democratic short-list. His ultimate prediction is "Kim Wardlaw (2009, for Souter), Deval Patrick (2010, for Stevens), and Elena Kagan (2011, for Ginsburg)." A more detailed list and explanation is available...

To follow up on Mark I and his redhot post "Packing the Court", which was a discussion on the post by Matthew Franck of National Review's Bench Memo's blog, the US Supreme Court should be a large focus on the 2008 Presidential race. Matthew makes the note that by 2016, only 3 current justices will be under 80 years of age. Those justice's are Thomas, Roberts, and Alito. Looking back on the past 40 years of US Supreme Court appointments, the number of US Supreme Court vacancies actually come in waves. During the 8 years of Nixon/Ford, 1968 until 1976,...

Some Republicans are upset that the White House has nominated only 25 people to fill the 47 vacancies now on the federal judiciary. Not to worry. If history is any guide, President Bush can nominate as many people as he wants, but most of them will not don the black robes anytime soon. As we head into the administration's final 18 months, it appears that, with the Democrats running the Senate, Bush, who has put 278 district and appeals court judges on the bench, has virtually no chance of besting Bill Clinton's370 appointments to those courts -- about 43 percent...

The new Democrat-controlled Senate has confirmed just 29 percent of President Bush's nominations so far this year, leaving many government agencies without key officials and slowing work to a crawl in some departments. Since Jan. 7, the president has sent 229 major nominations to the Senate, but just 66 have been confirmed. Those figures exclude U.S. attorneys, marshals and judges, but the White House says those nominations also have an alarmingly low confirmation rate — just 18 of the 46 (39 percent) sent to the Senate this year have been approved. http://washingtontimes.com/article/20070702/NATION/107020057/1002

The Brethren Now that the Supreme Court's 06-07 term is over I figured I'd give a bullet-point summary of all the major decisions: Racial preferences in public education - Rejected. Use of race in public school admissions - Severely limited. McCain-Feingold - Gutted; essentially rendered moot. Strict construction of federal employment laws - Mandated. Strict construction of federal labor regulations - Mandated. Strict construction of federal criminal laws - Mandated. Strict construction of federal securities laws - Mandated. Strict construction of patent laws - Mandated. Monopoly effect of patents - Limited. Death penalty - Upheld several times over. Procedural challenges...

Campaign against Judge Southwick repeats same old charges WASHINGTON, June 19 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Committee for Justice (CFJ) commented today on Senate Democrats' recent history of obstructing all white male appeals court nominees from the South, including Leslie Southwick of Mississippi, a Fifth Circuit nominee scheduled for a Judiciary Committee vote this Thursday. "Senate Democrats and their allies on the left have attacked Judge Southwick for being insensitive to 'the rights of African Americans, gays and lesbians,'" explained CFJ executive director Curt Levey. "If this sounds familiar, it's because they level the same charges whenever the President nominates a...

Republican leaders yesterday threatened a "total shutdown" of Senate business if Democrats keep holding up President Bush's appointments to the federal bench. "It could cause major meltdown," Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican, said after Democrats postponed a committee vote on the nomination of Leslie H. Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Mr. Lott said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, was "very mad" about judicial appointments and could bring the narrowly divided chamber to a standstill if Democrats don't speed up the confirmation process. "It could be total shutdown here pretty soon."...

White House Prepares for Possible Vacancy as Court Nears Summer Break The White House is developing a short list of possible Supreme Court nominees so President Bush can move swiftly if a justice retires at the end of June, when the Court breaks for its summer recess, according to sources involved in the selection process. Bush met with top advisers last month, and they discussed possible nominees if a Supreme Court vacancy occurs. He told White House Counsel Fred Fielding and other administration lawyers that he wanted to nominate a woman or a minority to the Court, and his legal...

Excerpt - U.S. District Court Judge George Howard Jr. of Pine Bluff, whose tenacity against racial injustice played a major role in prompting and defining his history-making legal career, died early Saturday at Jefferson Regional Medical Center. Howard, 82, Arkansas’ first black federal judge, had been battling failing health for some time. “Judge Howard was a lawyer’s lawyer and a truly outstanding judge,” said Pine Bluff attorney Robert Morehead, who began practicing law in 1970. “He helped so many people both in his work with the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and as an attorney. He...

I apologize in advance for the breech of protocol, a bit of a timely matter here. I am using a 2003 CRS report on Judicial Nominations for a debate. Does anyone have a link to a more up to date table(s) showing the percentage of President Bush's nominees have been confirmed and/or received a vote?

To still the siren of the heart and defer to the head is to seldom be wrongly led. So many wrong things feel so right. "You know, I really told my mother-in-law off the other day and, boy, did it feel good." Of course, what has changed? Your mother-in-law is still the nag she always was. One change, though, is that now your family politics has descended into the abyss. This occurs to me when I hear my political soul mates talk of sitting on their hands this election cycle. I hear pundits and plebeians both make pronouncements about how...

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in his old chambers in Newark, N.J., earlier this month. Asked if he ever questioned himself and his pursuit of the high court seat during the tense period leading up to his Senate confirmation, Alito said: "Like every day." (Photo by Noah Addis) Justice and Wife Look Back on Confirmation Ordeal BY KATE COSCARELLI U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in his old chambers in Newark, N.J., earlier this month. Asked if he ever questioned himself and his pursuit of the high court seat during the tense period leading up to his Senate...

Soon the 109th Congress will come to an end after having compiled one of the worst records on judicial confirmations in modern political history -- a remarkable "accomplishment" given the fact that one party has held Congress and the White House for six years. Virtually everyone agrees: The president's judicial nominees are eminently qualified and the votes needed for confirmation are there. And yet, the Senate has refused to fulfill its constitutional obligations and has denied these nominees an up-or-down vote. Why? There is a lot of blame to go around with respect to the Senate's obstruction of President Bush's...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said yesterday he intends to appoint former Republican Congressman James Rogan to a judgeship in the Orange Superior Court on Oct. 1. Representing Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena and neighboring areas in Congress from 1996 to 2000, Rogan was one of the House managers in the impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton, but lost a heavily contested race in 2000 to Schiff. Schwarzenegger also named San Diego attorney Carolyn M. Caietti and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura H. Parsky to judgeships in the San Diego Superior Court, tapped Santa Barbara County Senior Deputy District Attorney Edward Bullard for a...

Since President Bush took office in 2001 he has nominated 67 individuals to the U.S. Court of Appeals. 14 individuals have been nominated twice while 6 individuals have been nominated three times. 93 Total Nominations (52% Confirmed – 48 Confirmations; 93 Nominations) 67 Different Nominees (72% Confirmed – 48 Confirmed; 6 Withdrawn; 1 Retired; 12 Pending) 47 Nominated One Time (76% Confirmed – 35 Confirmed; 3 Withdrawn; 9 Pending) 14 Nominated Two Times (64% Confirmed – 9 Confirmed; 2 Withdrawn; 1 Retired; 2 Pending) 6 Nominated Three Times (67% Confirmed – 4 Confirmed; 1 Withdrawn; 1 Pending) 107th Congress...

Republicans in the Senate are circulating a document that tallies the numbers in regards to judicial nominations. Below are some of the numbers from that document: • 46 — The number of current vacancies on Article III courts — 17 in the courts of appeals, and 29 in the district courts. • 22 — The number of judicial nominations pending in the Senate, including 10 court of appeals nominees and 12 district court nominees. (Three of these nominations are to fill “future vacancies” anticipated in the future, but the judgeships are not currently vacant.) • 27 — The number of...

June 14, 2006 NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing on "Judicial Nominations" for Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at 4:00 p.m. in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building. By order of the Chairman ----- Tentative Witness List Hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Judicial Nominations Wednesday, June 21, 2006 Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226 4:00 p.m. PANEL I (Members of Congress TBA) PANEL II Neil M. Gorsuch to be United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit

The Senate Judiciary Committee is quietly maneuvering to act on two of President Bush's appellate court nominees this summer, while a third nominee awaiting action on the Senate floor is slowly moving closer to a vote, Republican aides told HUMAN EVENTS today. A GOP aide said the Judiciary Committee is moving toward a vote on William Haynes' confirmation to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July. But before the committee brings Haynes up for a vote, Chairman Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.) is likely hold a second hearing, at which time Haynes would be given the opportunity to defend himself...

No longer content with bashing Democrats for their obstruction of President Bush's judicial nominees, a coalition of conservative groups is now turning its attention to a prominent Republican -- Sen.Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.). The campaign, led by the Committee for Justice, is aimed at persuading Graham to allow a vote on William James Haynes II, the general counsel at the Department of Defense and a nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Although the campaign is in its infancy, organizers expect it to develop into a national e-mail and telephone lobbying effort. "A key reason...

The talk of a Republican apocalypse this fall is likely premature, but very well earned. A White House that can't seem to communicate its way out of a paper bag surely can't lead. A Senate which forgets it was elected to cut spending, reduce waste and change Washington should expect to be sent home. This is just reality. But there's more to this story than meets most eyes. There's also a real chance for redemption. Republicans in 2004 won an historic victory, on the wave of an overwhelming coalition of fiscal, defense and social conservatives representing a large majority of...

With just five months to go before the midterm elections, President Bush, whose once-faithful base has abandoned him in droves, is turning to the same conservative hot-button issues that won him re-election in 2004 -- homosexual "marriage" and judicial nominees. The president, now fully aware that his plummeting approval ratings could cost the Republicans control of one or both congressional chambers in November, will use his radio address today and a speech Monday to push a constitutional amendment banning same-sex "marriage," just as the Senate prepares to vote on the issue. The crux of his argument is simple: A majority...

Since President Bush took office in 2001 he has nominated 62 individuals to the U.S. Court of Appeals. 14 individuals have been nominated twice while 6 individuals have been nominated three times. 88 Total Nominations (50% Confirmed – 44 Confirmations; 88 Nominations) 62 Different Nominees (71% Confirmed – 44 Confirmed; 6 Withdrawn; 1 Retired; 11 Pending) 42 Nominated One Time (74% Confirmed – 31 Confirmed; 3 Withdrawn; 8 Pending) 14 Nominated Two Times (64% Confirmed – 9 Confirmed; 2 Withdrawn; 1 Retired; 2 Pending) 6 Nominated Three Times (67% Confirmed – 4 Confirmed; 1 Withdrawn; 1 Pending) 107th Congress...

WASHINGTON, May 25 — The Senate cleared the way on Thursday for a top aide to President Bush, Brett M. Kavanaugh, to be confirmed for the federal appeals court, avoiding a partisan showdown over a nomination that had been stalled for three years. Senators voted, 67 to 30, for a floor vote on the nomination, expected on Friday. Democrats said Mr. Kavanaugh, who was on the staff of Kenneth W. Starr, the independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton, was too partisan and lacked the experience for the appellate bench. But the senators were unwilling to block the nomination using...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The Senate cleared the way Thursday for the confirmation of White House aide Brett Kavanaugh to a federal appeals court judgeship, over Democratic complaints that he is unseasoned and partisan. By 67-30, senators approved a confirmation vote, set for Friday. Democrats, however, complained that Kavanaugh has a long record of loyalty to President Bush and too short a record in the courtroom. They highlighted the American Bar Association's recent downgrading of its rating of Kavanaugh from "highly qualified" to qualified. The White House and Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter say Kavanaugh's Ivy League education, Supreme Court clerkship...

President Bush is moving to nominate a replacement for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge J. Michael Luttig, who announced last week that he is leaving the bench to become senior vice president and general counsel at the Boeing Co. White House officials have discussed a number of possible candidates with Virginia's two Republican senators, said David Snepp, a spokesman for Sen. George Allen. The person chosen will require confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The process of selecting Luttig's replacement to the Richmond-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit is being coordinated by the office of White House counsel...

former Supreme Court law clerk from Colorado is President Bush's nominee to fill a vacancy on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The president on Wednesday nominated Neil Gorsuch, who was a clerk to the late Justice Byron White and to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and then spent a decade in private practice before joining the Justice Department last year. If confirmed by the Senate, Gorsuch will fill the vacancy left when Judge Dave Ebel stepped down to work part-time for the court. The 10th Circuit reviews cases from Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah and Kansas. Gorsuch, a...

The ABA has unanimously rated President Bush judicial nominee Michael Wallace “not qualified� to sit on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Liberal groups piled on, calling for the withdrawal of Wallace’s nomination after receiving the group’s lowest rating. According to the AP story, not counting the latest ratings only six of nearly 200 nominees since 2003 have received “not qualified� grade.

After Fight in Terrorism Case, Conservative Star Gives Up Court Seat for Boeing Job. On Nov. 22, U.S. Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig was at work in his chambers here when he received a telephone call telling him to switch on the television. There, he saw Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announce that the government would file charges against Jose Padilla in a federal court -- treating the accused terrorist like a normal criminal suspect. The judge was stunned. Two months earlier, he had written a landmark opinion saying the government could hold Mr. Padilla without charge in a military brig....

K-Lo reporting. Great news.

WASHINGTON - The American Bar Association rated one of President Bush's judicial nominees "not qualified" Wednesday, prompting a call from a liberal group for the president to withdraw the Mississippi lawyer's nomination. A panel of the nation's largest lawyers group unanimously agreed that Michael Wallace, nominated for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, should receive its lowest rating. Wallace, 54, was a law clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and special counsel to then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi during the impeachment trial of President Clinton in 1999.