Friday, December 09, 2005
Congressional Black Caucus Calls Alito Hostile to Civil Rights - James Rowley - jarowley@bloomberg.net - Bloomberg
The Congressional Black Caucus announced it opposes U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. and sought a meeting with 14 senators who pledged to oppose filibusters of judicial candidates except under 'extraordinary circumstances.'
The 42 black members of the House of Representatives said Alito exhibited hostility to race-discrimination cases during his 15 years as a federal appeals court judge and his prior service as a Justice Department lawyer. The group's vote was unanimous.
Leaders of the caucus said Alito, insisted in discrimination cases on a higher standard of proof than is required by case law and legal precedent.
"We believe his hostility to discrimination cases has been systematic and unmovable and his Senate confirmation to be a justice would be "nothing short of a dangerous turning point for the Supreme Court," Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia's non-voting delegate, told reporters in Washington.
North Carolina Representative Mel Watt said the group wants to meet with the "gang of 14" senators because he said Alito's nomination poses "extraordinary circumstances."
The agreement last May by seven Democrats and seven Republicans averted a Senate crisis over the use of the filibuster to block votes on President George W. Bush's judicial nominees. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has not ruled out using the tactic in an effort to stop Alito.
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The Congressional Black Caucus announced it opposes U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. and sought a meeting with 14 senators who pledged to oppose filibusters of judicial candidates except under 'extraordinary circumstances.'
The 42 black members of the House of Representatives said Alito exhibited hostility to race-discrimination cases during his 15 years as a federal appeals court judge and his prior service as a Justice Department lawyer. The group's vote was unanimous.
Leaders of the caucus said Alito, insisted in discrimination cases on a higher standard of proof than is required by case law and legal precedent.
"We believe his hostility to discrimination cases has been systematic and unmovable and his Senate confirmation to be a justice would be "nothing short of a dangerous turning point for the Supreme Court," Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia's non-voting delegate, told reporters in Washington.
North Carolina Representative Mel Watt said the group wants to meet with the "gang of 14" senators because he said Alito's nomination poses "extraordinary circumstances."
The agreement last May by seven Democrats and seven Republicans averted a Senate crisis over the use of the filibuster to block votes on President George W. Bush's judicial nominees. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has not ruled out using the tactic in an effort to stop Alito.
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