Posted on 09/24/2002 3:21:46 AM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate is taking up what may be the most controversial of President Bush's judicial nominees, with Republicans calling for a quick confirmation of Washington lawyer Miguel Estrada while Democrats are demanding a thorough examination of his credentials.
Attorney General John Ashcroft plans to personally call for Estrada's confirmation, showing the Bush administration's deep desire to get the Honduran native on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, a stepping stone for three current justices on the Supreme Court.
Democrats plan to stand in Estrada's way. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., one of the leading opponents to Bush's drive to put conservatives on the federal bench, has scheduled a hearing Tuesday on the D.C. Circuit and the importance of "ideological balance" on what is called the nation's second highest court.
Democrats accused Republicans of stalling former President Clinton's nominees for the D.C. appeals court in hopes of putting conservatives in those slots. No one has been confirmed for the court in five years.
Nearly everyone agrees that Estrada, a partner in the law firm that helped win the presidency for Bush during the Florida election recount, has a brilliant legal mind. In question is whether he can get a favorable nod from the Senate panel, where Democrats have twice used their one-member majority to defeat Bush nominees on party-line votes.
A naturalized citizen, Estrada came to the United States at age 17 from the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. He quickly learned English and ultimately graduated from Harvard Law School in 1986. He has since practiced constitutional law and argued 15 cases before the Supreme Court.
"It's amazing what he's been able to accomplish," said Solicitor General Ted Olson, a former law partner of Estrada's.
To his critics, Estrada is not quite the Hispanic Horatio Alger portrayed by his supporters.
The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund says Estrada is the son of a lawyer and a bank vice president, lived a life of privilege in Honduras and received an English education before coming to the United States.
"Mr. Estrada has not lived the educationally or economically disadvantaged life his proponents would have others believe," said Juan Figueroa, the group's president. "Nor have Mr. Estrada's life experiences resembled or been shared with those of Latinos who have experienced discrimination or struggled with poverty, indifference or unfairness."
At his nomination hearing Thursday, Estrada, like all of Bush's appeals court nominees, will be asked if he can keep his personal views on issues apart from his duties as a judge. Estrada says that he can judge without favor to any side.
"In my view, federal judges may decide only concrete cases or controversies that properly come to them," he said in response to a questionnaire from the Senate committee. "They may not 'make law' or reach beyond the facts and circumstances of the particular case they must decide."
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On the Net:
Justice Department information on Estrada: http://www.usdoj.gov/olp/estrada.htm
AP-ES-09-24-02 0257EDT
At his nomination hearing Thursday, Estrada, like all of Bush's appeals court nominees, will be asked if he can keep his personal views on issues apart from his duties as a judge. Estrada says that he can judge without favor to any side.
Wouldn't it be amazing if "Putzhead Schumer" could keep his personal views on issues apart from his duties as a Senator? Naw, never happen...
September 24, 2002
WASHINGTON D.C.—Concerned Women for America is calling on Senate Democrats to reject the political games of leftist groups and live up to their commitment to solve the judicial vacancy crisis.
Liberal groups are wrong when they attack Miguel Estrada. The American Bar Association unanimously rated him “well qualified”. Democrats and Republicans of all stripes support him. Estrada is an excellent nominee.
“The political left perceives Estrada to be the ‘wrong kind’ of Hispanic, just like Clarence Thomas was the ‘wrong kind’ of black and Priscilla Owen the ‘wrong kind’ of woman,” said Sandy Rios, President of CWA. “It’s time to put an end to liberal racism and liberal chauvinism.”
Recent party line votes in the Judiciary Committee show the Democrat members’ preference for political partisanship over progress in solving a national emergency. According to Tom Jipping, Senior Fellow in CWA’s Legal Studies Department, “This ideological campaign to manipulate the judiciary is perpetuating the vacancy crisis, undermining judicial independence, and damaging the judiciary’s credibility.”
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