Republican senators take a stand on protecting American justice

Eight Senate Republicans gathered this afternoon to hold a forum on “Protecting American Justice: Ensuring Confirmation of Qualified Judicial Nominees.” Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) led the forum and said that it is not fair to the American people for Congress to block certain judicial nominees in an effort to obtain partisan revenge. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) agreed with Specter and said that U.S. courts are the front lines of contact between the American citizens and Congress.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said that there is no excuse for not considering voting upon a good judicial nominee. He said that republicans are ready to go to work and serve justice. Sen. John Warner said it is sad watching qualified nominees not get invited to hearings and go into the “partisan fight.” Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) agreed with Warner and said that good nominees should not be trumped by partisan politics.

John McGinnis of Northwestern Law School said the process of confirming judicial nominees has broken down in the last few years and become a partisan process. He explained that over the last twenty years, the Senate Judiciary Committee has often refused to hold hearings or take votes on federal court nominees of a President who is a member of the opposing political party. McGinnis said that by delaying or refusing to provide hearings for plausibly qualified federal court nominees, the Judiciary Committee is likely to harm the quality of the judiciary. He proposed that the Committee pass a rule requiring the Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing within six months of a nomination and to hold a Committee vote without one month of the hearing, unless at least two-thirds of the Committee agrees to postpone it.

David Bohn of the North Carolina Bar Association said that his association joins in calling for nominations to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to move forward immediately, specifically Judge Robert Conrad’s nomination. Bohn said that further delay in the nomination will cause more harm than good, and that to continue to have the State of North Carolina under-represented in the Circuit is “a misfortunate, unnecessary detriment to the public and the legal community of North Carolina.”

Roscoe Howard, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, explained that the D.C. Circuit has been affected by a growing caseload. He said that not having vacancies filled during a time like this is “just wrong.” Howard gave his support for Mr. Keisler and Judge Conrad and said that when the confirmation of men such as them fail to move forward, there is an appearance of a lack of appreciation of their capabilities, and of the respect they have earned. More importantly, Howard said that the integrity of the U.S. judicial system of selecting judges is harmed and diminished.

FISA: Telecom immunity okay

The Senate passed the update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that grants immunity to telecom companies from lawsuits with a 69-28 vote.

Before the vote, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said, in his opening statement, that 40 lawsuits are being litigated. Retroactive immunity should be given to phone companies, Specter said. There is a way to protect the phone companies without giving up the details of their programs, Specter said.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that it is time to hold the government accountable and let the Supreme Court review the bill. Sen. Leahy said he supports the amendments presented by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). This administration is not above the law, Sen. Leahy said.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who wanted to strike lawsuit immunity, said that the administration has been doing warrantless wiretapping for too long. “Five years is too much.” Dodd said that it is a matter of balancing national security with constitutional rights, and when any government makes citizens give up their rights for national security, it is wrong. The government should have the tools to stop terrorism, but it must stay balanced with the rights of its citizens, Dodd said.

Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) said the Senate Committee on Intelligence oversees the use of wiretapping to make sure it does not violate citizens’ rights. But Senate intelligence briefings do have to stop at a certain point, Bond said, or otherwise too much will be revealed. The telephone companies are being “good patriotic Americans” and should be protected.

Dept. of Justice bashed for compromising civil liberties

Support for the Patriot Act was expressed by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) at the American Civil Liberties Union conference. Specter said that though he supports the Patriot Act, a clearer separation of law enforcement and constitutional rights is necessary to protect Americans’ civil liberties. Specter said the Department of Justice must work harder to ensure that the right to an attorney and presumption of innocence are not compromised. Specter also said that congressional and judicial oversight of executive decisions has been insufficient and that a checks and balance system is crucial to prevent the government from gaining the immunity it wants when controversial policies are challenged.

James Risen, a New York Times reporter that co-authored a piece revealing government wire-tapping programs, said that American reporters being jailed for refusing to reveal sources is a negative reflection on the United States. According to Risen, these measures justify the actions of leaders in countries like China and Zimbabwe, two states in which New York Times reporters have been arrested previously.

Toni Lacy, a USA Today reporter held in contempt for refusing to reveal the sources of an anthrax report, also spoke at the conference. Lacy emphatically said that the American public has a right to know the details of government action during the anthrax scare. Lacy said if reporters are subpoenaed for unnecessary “fishing expeditions” by law enforcement agencies, media outlets will be “destroyed out of fear,” halting coverage of on-going events. Lacy closed her speech by saying that a confidential source is not synonymous with being a traitor.