by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings
"Having a judiciary that reflects both excellence and diversity," President Clinton declared to the American Bar Association last August, "is critical to equal justice under the law, to safe streets broadly supported by the public and to building one America."
Most Americans would agree. The Senate
=s Republican majority, however, appears hostile to adding minority and female judges to the federal courts, indifferent to the legitimizing social effect of a more diverse federal judiciary, or both.The Constitution vests Senators with the power to approve or disapprove the President's judicial appointments by majority vote. The public interest, however, demands that the Senate give the President's nominees a fair and prompt hearing.
On October 7th of this year, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) attempted to justify the Republican's party-line rejection of Missouri Supreme Court Justice Ronnie White, a distinguished African American nominee for the U.S. District Court. The Republican Senator cited Justice White's
Aquestionable opinions@ on imposing the death penalty and the opposition of Missouri's Senators.Senator Hatch
=s defense to the charge of racism would be more convincing if Justice White had not voted 70% of the time with his Republican-appointed judicial colleagues on death penalty decisions - or if Republican Senators had not been encouraged to change their positions on the White nomination.Justice White's rejection by Senate Republicans was not an isolated event. The evidence clearly reveals prejudice at work in the Senate against minority and female nominees.
Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist once declared that "the Senate is surely under no obligation to confirm any particular nominee, but after the necessary time for inquiry, it should vote him up or vote him down."
During 1999, however, the Senate has voted to confirm only 18% of the African Americans and 27% of the women nominated to the courts, while 42% of the President's white male nominees have been approved. These delays are occurring while there are 17 judicial vacancies that have been declared
Aemergencies.@Heavy federal caseloads call for prompt, impartial Senate consideration of President Clinton's judicial appointments. Republican delays deprive his judicial nominees - and the rest of us - of due process. That the Republicans
= obstruction appears to be racially motivated makes it even more appalling.That is why, last week, Congressional Black Caucus Chairman James E. Clyburn (D-SC), other CBC members and I asked President Clinton to elevate to the federal courts every judicial nominee who remains deprived of their rightful Senate hearing when the Senate adjourns for 1999.
Under the Senate
=s 1960 Hart Resolution, President Clinton may make such Arecess appointments@ when required by Aunusual circumstances@ and Afor the purpose of preventing...a demonstrable breakdown...@ in the federal judicial system.After the CBC
=s demand, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MI) promised that a final vote would be taken by March 15, 2000, on the long-standing nominations of jurists Marsha L. Berzon and Richard A. Paez (an Hispanic) to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. I encourage Sen. Lott to extend his promised resolution to all of the delayed judicial nominations.On August 5th, for example, the President nominated North Carolina Appellate Judge James Andrew Wynn and U.S. District Judge Ann Williams to serve on the 4th and 7th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, respectively. No African American has ever served on these courts, nor is any African American currently serving on the 1st, 9th or 10th circuit appellate courts.
Now is the time for the Senate to put politics and prejudice aside. We need people of the high intellectual and moral caliber demonstrated by Judge Wynn and Judge Williams adjudicating our disputes, not caught in a purgatory of partisan opposition.
America deserves a federal judiciary that reflects both our excellence and our diversity.
-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.