Posted on 11/19/2003 8:11:00 AM PST by William McKinley
Edited on 11/19/2003 10:40:52 AM PST by Lead Moderator. [history]
Where is the outrage? Oh, never mind. It's not a republican memo.
To: Senator Durbin
From: [Blacked out]
Date: November 7, 2001
Re: Meeting with Civil Rights Leaders Yesterday to Discuss Judges
Due to the floor activity last night, you missed a meeting with Senator Kennedy and representatives of various civil rights groups. This was intended to follow up a meeting in Senator Kennedy's office in mid-October, when the groups expressed serious concern with the quick hearing for Charles Pickering and the pace of judicial nominations generally.
Yesterday's meeting accomplished two objectives. First, the groups advocated for some procedural ground rules. These include (1) only one hearing per monthl (2) no more than three judges per hearing; (3) giving Committee Democrats and the public more advance notice of scheduled nominees; (4) no recess hearings; and (5) a commitment that nominees voted down in Committee will not get a floor vote. Earlier yesterday, Senator Leahy's staff committed to the third item in principle.
Second, yesterday's meeting focused on identifying the most controversial and/or vulnerable judicial nominees, and a strategy for targeting them. The groups singled out three-- Jeffrey Sutton (6th Circuit); Priscilla Owen (5th Circuit); and Caroline Kuhl (9th Circuit) -- as a potential nominee for a contentious hearing early next year, with a eye to voting him or her down in Committee. They also identified Miguel Estrada (D.C. Circuit) as especially dangerous, because he has a minimal paper trail, he is Latino, and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment. They want to hold Estrada off as long as possible.
Attached is a table I compiled, evaluating the 19 Court of Appeals nominees and a few of the controversial district court nominees. Based on input from the groups, I would place the appellate nominees in the categories below. Asterisks indicate that a Senator has placed a hold on the nominee.
Good Bad Ugly Clifton (9th Cir.)* Shedd (4th Cir.) Boyle (4th Cir.)* Melloy (8th Cir.) Roberts (D.C. Cir) Owen (5th Cir.) O'Brien (10th Cir.) L. Smith (8th Cir.) Sutton (6th Cir.) * Howard (1st Cir.) Pickering (5th Cir.) Cook (6th Cir.)* B. Smith (3rd Cir.) Tymkovich (10th Cir.) McConnell (10th Cir.) Gibbons (6th Cir.) Estrada (D.C. Cir.) Steele (11th Cir.) Kuhl (9th Cir.)*
To: Senator [Kennedy]
From: [Blacked out]
Subject: Judges and the Latino Community
Date: February 28, 2002Ralph Nees called to let us know that he had lunch with Andy Stern of SEIU. Andy wants to be helpful as we move forward on judges, and he has great contacts with Latino media outlets- Univision and others. Ralph told Andy that you are anxious to develop a strategy for the Supreme Court and a strategy for dealing with conservative Latino Circuit Court nominees that are hostile to constitutional and civil rights. Ralph and Andy discussed the possibility of a relatively small meeting to discuss media strategy, and Andy believes there are several Latino media leaders who share our concerns and would like to meet with you. Ralph proposes that you meet with key Latino media leaders, Raul, Antonia, Wade, and Ralph. [Blacked out] and I think this is a very good idea.
Would you like to have such a meeting to discuss media strategy and the Latino community? If so, Ralph and Andy will take the lead in getting everyone to DC.
DECISION:
Yes, I want to meet with them _____ No, I don't want to meet _____ CC: [Blacked out]
To: Senator Durbin
From: [Blacked out]
Date: June 3, 2002
Re: Meeting with Civil Rights Leaders to Discuss Judicial Nominations Strategy
Senator Kennedy has invited you and Senator Schumer to attend a meeting with civil rights leaders to discuss their priorities as the Judiciary Committe considers judicial nominees in the coming months. For example, they believe that the Committe's current pace for nominations hearings (every two weeks) is too quick; and they need more time to consider the record of Judge Dennis Shedd, a controversial 4th Circuit nominee whom Senator Hollings is backing.
This meeting is intended to follow-up your meetings in Senator Kennedy's office last fall. The guest list will be the same: Kate Milchelman (NARAL), Nan Aron (Alliance for Justice), Wade Henderson (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights), Ralph Neas (People For the American Way), Nancy Zirkin (American Association of University Women), Marcia Greenberger (National Women's Law Center), and Judy Lichtman (National Partnership). The meeting has been tentatively scheduled for late Wednesday morning.
Assuming your schedule permits, do you want to accept Kennedy's invitation and attend the meeting?
I think it has already happened to a certain degree. The moderate voters are sickened by these (successful) attempts of judicial tampering.
Look for some big dem names to have REAL trouble - and maybe even lose.
English and Spanish campaign add 2004.
Bump that!
Mensas grandes piensan mismo .... or something like that!
I'd like to see prez use the bully pulpit (that WILL get press) to call down the dems on these subversive memos. Will he? If he won't, who would get adequate press? Cheney? Rice? Who?
To: SENATOR [Kennedy] September 27, 2002
From: [Blacked out]
Re: Members Meeting on Judges- Monday or Tuesday, Place TBA
There will be a judiciary members' meeting early next week. We are trying to schedule the meeting for Monday, after the 5:30 vote, though Leahy has proposed after the Caucus lunch on Tuesday, which would conflict with your schedule. Sen. Leahy is calling this meeting at the request of several members, and, we recommend that the following items be discussed: (1) Delaying a hearing for Cook; (2) Putting off a vote on McConnell or Estrada until after the recess; and (3) next Thursday's vote on Shedd.
Cook
As you know, Debbie Cook--who currently sits on the Ohio Supreme Court-- is a nominee to the 6th Circuit who is fiercely opposed by labor and civil rights groups in Ohio. Sen. Leahy wants to schedule Cook for a hearing on October 9th or 10th, because he feels he has made a promise to DeWine to do so.While we haven't finished reviewing Cook's record, Justice Cook-- like Justice Owen-- seems terrible in cases involving workers and consumers. She is the most prolific dissenter on the moderate Ohio Supreme Court. In her judicial campaigns-- Ohio, like Texas, elects its judges-- she has received more money than any other justice from manufacturing and business, and has received no money from labor unions. The Ohio Chanber of Commerce has given her its highest ratings for her decisions in employment law, insurance, and medical malpractice cases. On the other hand, the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers has written the committee that Cook is "willing to disregard precedent, mininterpret legislative intent and ignore constitutional mandates in an effort to achieve a result that favors business over consumers." Ohio NOW and the Ohio Employment Lawyer's Association have written that Cook's "anti-worker record is becoming legendary in Ohio" and that her opinions seek to undermine the enforcement of state and federal civil rights laws. She is known for adopting strained or extreme legal propositions to deny relief for workers, and is seen as "heartless" and indifferent.
Sen. Leahy has asked whether you would be willing to chair a hearing for Cook on October 9th or 10th. We believe that you should agree to chair her hearing, but that you should push back against scheduling this hearing before the elections. The Committee has held hearings on too many controversial nominees in a row. Not only would preparing for Cook's hearing be a challenge, but it would demoralize Democrats' key constituents--in particular, labor-- to have a hearing for her before the election.
AFL-CIO has weighed in with Daschle and Reed (as well as Leahy) about delaying Cook and Reed and Daschle have said they will discuss Cook with Leahy. Sen. Levin, who is opposed to moving any additional 6th Circuit nominees given that the White House is not cooperating with him regarding nominees to that circuit, will likely be approaching Democratic members about delaying Cook.
Recommendation: Agree to chair a hearing for Cook, but after the election in the lame-duck session.
McConnell and Estrada
Sen. Leahy might want to schedule a Committe vote on McConnell and Estrada before the recess. We think this is a terrible idea and that voting on (and for) these nominees would be demoralizing to our base before the election. McConnell likely has sufficient votes to go through the Committee, but members have not yet submitted follow-up questions to him regarding contradictory statements he made at the hearing about his views on abortion, the Bob Jones case, and the constitutionality of the FACT act. As for Estrada, he just had his hearing and we certainly should not move him forward without resolving the matter concerning the SG memos.Recommendation: Do not schedule a vote on McConnell and Estrada until after the election.
Shedd
Shedd-- the nominee to the Fourth Circuit who has terrible record in cases involving civil rights, women's rights, disability and federalism, and who is fiercely opposed by Southern Civil Rights groups (see attached article)-- is scheduled for next Thursday's Exec. We do not know how other members will vote regarding Shedd. We have heard that Sen. Edwards and Sen. Durbin are leaning against Shedd.It is likely that Leahy will vote Shedd and we suggest that you record a "no" vote on him. Particularly given the high percentage of African-Americans on the Fourth Circuit and the Republicans' reisstances to placing Clinton nominees on that Court, it seems necessary to resist a judge with such a dismal record on core civil rights and constitutional issues. While Shedd doesn't have the "cross-burning" case of Pickering to disqualify him, he is as bad--perhaps worse-- on the core substantive issues.
CC: [Blacked out]
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