President Bush has nominated Leslie Southwick to fill a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Bush previously tried to fill the seat with Charles Pickering and then Michael Wallace, both of whom faced significant opposition due to their disturbing legal records, especially on civil rights.
"Regrettably, Southwick also has a troubling record and appears to be cut from the same cloth as the others," said Ralph G. Neas, President of People For the American Way. "First Pickering, then Wallace, and now Southwick - Bush has completely struck out on the Fifth Circuit." More...
As Timothy McDonald said in an op-ed in WaPo:
Now is the time to contact your senators and demand that they stop Southwick before he gets a lifetime opportunity to roll back decades-worth of social justice gains.
It is expected that the full Senate will come to a vote for confirmation as early as tomorrow. You can use the widget on the right margin of the home page to contact your Senators or PFAW has a directory as well. PFAW, Magnolia Bar Association, AFL-CIO, NAACP and Human Rights Campaign (.pdf files) all oppose his confirmation.
