3 Democrats Join Senate Panel In Approving a Criticized Judge

The New York Times ^ | 5/23/02 | David Stout

[GeneD]

WASHINGTON, May 23 — A federal district judge who has been criticized for some of his rulings and for his membership in an all-male club was endorsed for an appeals court post today. The approval came after three Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee gave President Bush's nominee their support.

The nomination of Judge D. Brooks Smith for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, now goes to the full Senate, where a heated debate is likely.

In the vote today, the nominee got all nine Republican votes. Since the committee has 10 Democrats, he needed to pick up at least one for his name to go to the full Senate. He actually got three, Joseph R. Biden of Delaware, John Edwards of North Carolina and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin.

Judge Smith's critics complain, among other things, that he has often been reversed by higher courts and that he has too often sided against plaintiffs in job-discrimination and age-discrimination cases.

But Judge Smith has been supported by many Democrats as well as Republicans in Pennsylvania. Before becoming a federal judge he served on a Pennsylvania state court. Before that, he was an assistant district attorney and served as a special prosecutor in an organized-crime investigation.

The issue of his membership in the all-male Spruce Creek Rod and Gun Club first arose in 1988, when President Ronald Reagan nominated him for a federal district judgeship. Judge Smith pledged to try to change the male-only policy of the club, but his foes say he did not try very hard, and that he only quit the club in 1999, after a vacancy on the Third Circuit came up.

Judge Brooks was 36 when he became a district judge in 1988, making him one of the youngest federal jurists in the country.

Senator Kohl did not comment on his vote today. Senator Edwards said he thought the judge would apply the law regardless of his personal views, while Senator Biden said he did not have enough reasons to vote against the President's choice.

The Democrats control the Senate, 50 to 49, with one independent, James Jeffords of Vermont. Thus, having picked up three Democrats today, Judge Smith would seem to have a good chance of being confirmed for the appeals courts.

[GeneD]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

[freedomcrusader]

I doubt the dems did it for nothing. Wonder what Bush either promised them or promised not to do to them...

[mwl1]

I thought Biden had been fighting this appointment tooth and nail. Something foul is in the works.

[hchutch]

I think the deal was along the lines of, "Confirm Brooks Smith, and I won't be so blunt about your obstruction."

We've got a Dem memo where they ADMIT they are less than truthful about the Social Security debate, and now this. Looks like a "doom on you" week for the Dems. Which, as readers of Rogue Warrior books know, is a politeway of say that the Dems are... [deleted to avoid trouble with the moderators]...

[deport]

Senator Edwards said he thought the judge would apply the law regardless of his personal views,

Well now, is that a look down the road to 04?

[Coop]

I tend to agree that they confirmed this judge because they were catching grief for obstructing in general and for crucifying Pickering. They don't want to kill all the conservative nominations (too obvious), just an occasional one.

[Poohbah]

Marcinko bump...

[hchutch]

My money is on a filibuster. We'll have 56 or 57 votes, but not the 60 to break a filibuster. It would be a high-risk thing for the Dems. A filibuster would be VERY public, and it could reinforce the "no class" impression of the Dems in a number of the states where Bush did pretty well in that have Dems up.

But at the same time, the Dems could try it to publicly trash ALL the nominees, particularly Estrada, without letting them defend themselves.

[Howlin]

The issue of his membership in the all-male Spruce Creek Rod and Gun Club first arose in 1988

I will remember this and I myself will make an 'issue' of the fact that Mr. Edwards has a "home" in a GATED, GUARDED PRIVATE ISLAND off the coast of North Carolina.

[Howlin]

Say, wasn't Edwards ojection to the last guy his personal views?

Apparently Edwards got a clue from that one, since so many attorneys were appalled at his grandstanding.

[Quilla]

Couldn't Daschle still prevent this from coming up for a vote even though it made it out of Committee? Surely he still thinks 60 is a majority and if his grandmother's sister's nephew's wife doesn't think it'll pass, he won't allow the whole Senate to vote on it.

[hchutch]

You know, we could probably ramp up the criticism over Estrada, and that could show the Dems for who they are. Stories like Estrada's are what this country is about, IMHO. We can use this on a wide front.

I swear, why is it nobody at the RNC has thought to retaliate when the Dems play the race card by running ads in the black and Hispanic communities highlighting the Klan recruiter (and a person who used the N word) that they elevated to third in the line of succession to the Presidency?

Turn the race card on the Dems for once. HARD.

[hchutch]

Personally, I think it was more along the lines of his McCarthy-like tendencies against Pickering. That had to make a lot of people flinch.

[Hacksaw]

The issue of his membership in the all-male Spruce Creek Rod and Gun Club first arose in 1988, when President Ronald Reagan nominated him for a federal district judgeship. Judge Smith pledged to try to change the male-only policy of the club, but his foes say he did not try very hard, and that he only quit the club in 1999, after a vacancy on the Third Circuit came up.

Looks like another Ralph Neas smear.

[Howlin]

That's who I meant.......I just couldn't think of his name!

[aimhigh]

Dems; "No evidence he's a Christian. Let him in..."

[Coop]

I agree. I don't know why we hardly ever hear/see anything about Democrat Senator Robert Byrd - Ku Klux Klan. Sure, it was a while back, but so were Pickering's supposed indiscretions.

[OldFriend]

Specter made a digusting deal.....no doubt about it........this is either a thank for something we have yet to discern or for something in the future.

[Miss Marple]

Well, it could be that we have some behind the scenes hardball being played. You know, appealing to them to do this in the spirit of bi-partisanship didn't work. It still hadn't registered on a lot of the public that this was being blocked.

However, the dems overreached with their disgusting performance last week. I wonder what sorts of things were laid before these senators as threats, because regardless of what many of the people here think, President Bush paid attention to Lee Atwater quite a bit, and he is not averse to leaning on people hard when he has to.

[Baseballguy]

ping