wednesday's child: Urge Senators to Vote Against the Nomination of Miguel Estrada

January 29, 2003

Urge Senators to Vote Against the Nomination of Miguel Estrada

Serious stuff from the Feminist Majority, take a few seconds and pop an email off to protest:

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Miguel Estrada‚s nomination to
the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, January 30, 2003. Estrada
has not demonstrated commitment to women‚s rights or civil rights and has
refused to answer questions about his commitment to abortion rights or
basic civil rights. He should not be confirmed.

Urge Senators to Vote Against the Nomination of Miguel Estrada

Similar to Clarence Thomas, Estrada has refused to reveal his position on
critical legal issues. During his hearing, Estrada was asked whether he
thought Roe v. Wade, and Romer v. Evans (the case that struck down
Colorado's anti-gay rights measure), were correctly decided. He declined
to answer, stating that he had not read the briefs, listened to the
arguments or researched the issues. He gave a similar answer when asked
about Supreme Court cases in the areas of environmental protection and
labor rights.

Senator Leahy noted in his statement on the Estrada nomination that the
Judiciary Committee has an "insufficient record" on which to predict his
ability to be a fair and impartial judge. After the Estrada hearing,
Senator Leahy stated: "I was hoping that the hearing would allay concerns
that have been raised about this nomination, but I was left with more
questions than answers after all of the steps Mr. Estrada took to avoid
answering questions at that hearing." Senator Schumer told Mr. Estrada
during his hearing: "We don‚t know you, and the purpose of this hearing is
to get to know you a little better. And in all due respect, you are not
letting us do that hardly at all."

The burden should be on the nominee for a lifetime appointment to show
that he deserves to serve as a federal judge. Estrada‚s lack of an
established record and unwillingness to answer questions means that he has
failed to make this showing. Senators should vote against his nomination.