Senators, Latino Groups Celebrate Near-Certain Confirmation Of Sotomayor

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

Civil rights leaders and Senators joined in a rally on Capitol Hill Wednesday to voice their support for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation.

The familiar phrase from President Obama's campaign, "yes we can," was heard both in English and Spanish at the rally, which was hosted by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). The atmosphere was extremely celebratory as the crowd loudly responded with cheers each time the name of the historic nominee was mentioned.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was one of four Senators who spoke at the rally. "There are three words that sum up this nomination: It is time," Schumer declared.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) also showed their support, adding that they were not pleased with the overall Republican response to the nomination.

"Let us hope that as history looks back on this day, it notes the historic occasion of the confirmation of Justice Sotomayor and ...not the Republicans' strange and strained efforts to impose right-wing political orthodoxy on our courts and judges," said Whitehouse.

Sen. Menendez spoke about the response of the Hispanic community to Sotomayor nomination, but also mentioned the appreciation of the few Republican Senators who have said they will vote yes for her confirmation.

"When she raises her hand and takes that oath of office, the Supreme Court will be better, the nation will be better, and we will have fulfilled our promise as a country," said Menendez.

Civil rights organizations including the Hispanic Federation, the Alliance for Justice, the NAACP and others were also present in support of Sotomayor. Many people held signs with the slogan "I stand with Sotomayor," and at one point, a chant of, "What do we want?-Sonia-When do we want it?-Now," erupted.

Sotomayor Backed By Civil Rights Organizations

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

Civil rights organizations voiced their support of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor just one day after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 to confirm her nomination.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) joined representatives of various organizations in a press conference Wednesday to discuss the historic nomination and upcoming Senate vote.

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights President Wade Henderson said, “Her elevation to the Supreme Court would mark another advance on the road to equal opportunity that this nation has traveled from its founding; but, even more importantly, it would give Americans a Justice they can be confident will uphold their constitutional values, the rule of law and the principle of equal justice for all.”

Lillian Rodriguez Lopez of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda spoke about Sotomayor from both a professional and a personal perspective. Lopez fought back tears as she explained that while she, too, is a Hispanic woman from New York, she could only “pray to possess” the qualities and skills that Sotomayor possesses.

“I hope that next week that the members of the entire Senate will send a message of resounding support for Judge Sotomayor to the American people, to the Hispanic American people, when they vote for her confirmation,” said Lopez.

Reid said he is currently trying to cut a deal with Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) regarding the floor debate, but isn't certain on how long the debate may last. He dismissed Republicans' concerns over Sotomayor, asking rhetorically, “How many times do we have to listen to the same speeches on the same brief statements she made, on the same case that she talked about?”

Reid added that the Senate will be working long hours to ensure that the confirmation vote is one of the last things they do before they leave for the August recess.

Statement by Center for Constitutional Rights on meeting with Obama

Vincent Warren, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, met yesterday with President Obama. He released this statement:

CCR attended the meeting as did ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Charlie Swift and others. The president did not preview his speech for us. The president was very open in hearing CCR's concerns on a range of guantanamo policy issues. I came out of the meeting deeply disappointed in the direction that the administration is taking and I don't see meaningful differences between these detention policies and those erected by President Bush.

Top Court: Ashcroft, Mueller Not Liable For Muslim Civil Rights Violations

By Jonathan Bronstein, Talk Radio News Service

Shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government allowed law enforcement officials to arrest people of “high interest” according to race, religion, or national origin, according to Javaid Iqbal, a Pakistani citizen who was placed in a maximum-security prison in early 2002.

Iqbal claimed that the government’s decision violated his civil rights and he sued former U.S. Attorney General John Aschcroft and Robert Mueller, then-Director of the FBI.

Today, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Kennedy, ruled against Iqbal.

Kennedy wrote that Iqbal’s initial filings did not provide enough information to automatically find Ashcroft and Mueller responsible for the abuses he suffered while being held.

The case will now return to the lower courts, where Iqbal may have a chance to substantiate his claim that he was subjected to harsh conditions on account of his religion and nationality, and that Ashcroft and Mueller were the “principle architects” of this plan.

Four Justices dissented, and in an opinion written by Justice Souter agreed with the lower courts' findings that Ashcroft and Mueller did violate his civil rights and could therefore be held responsible.

38,000 + signatures against Arizona Sheriff brought to DC

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

“All I want to do is except these petitions, welcome you, advise you that the Department of Justice has an investigation going on surrounding activities in Maricopa County and guess what, your not the only ones that have a sheriff that needs to be investigated in this country.” said Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) at a press conference to present a petition of more than 38,000 signatures calling on the Department of Justice and Homeland Security to investigate Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s alleged civil rights abuses.

Arpaio has 2,700 lawsuits filed against him and this month the House Judiciary Committee called for the Justice Department to conduct a federal investigation on Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio's enforcement tactics.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) expressed that the sheriff's tactics are examples of police power and are a violation of federal law. Nadler said, “In 2009, in the United States, we simply cannot tolerate such patterns of discrimination and denial of due process. Sheriff Arpaio’s malicious and vigilante practices are not immigration enforcement.” stated Nadler.

“We carry the burden of being stuck with this man but it is not an Arizona problem, this is a national disgrace...It can’t be tolerated.” said Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.). Grijalva said he never supported the 287(g) program which trains local officers to enforce immigration law. “Put it in the wrong hands, it becomes abusive, discriminatory, and breaks the law and that's what happened here...That particular program, the worst case scenario was in front of you and that Sheriff Arpaio.” he said.

Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said that the 287(g) program is the Bush Administration’s failed experiment to outsource federal responsibility and expressed that the change we all voted for last November will soon bring order to the broken immigration system. “We must turn the page and we must together restore the nation’s promise for life, liberty and for the pursuit of happiness for all.” concluded Alvarado.