Groups Support Texas Supreme Court Priscilla Owen Nomination to Fifth Circuit

A diverse collection of individuals and groups will hold a press conference on the steps of the Texas Supreme Court Building, on Monday, July 15, at 10 a.m. They will announce their unanimous support for the nomination of President George W. Bush of Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Those announcing their support are: Texas Justice Foundation; Free Market Foundation; Liberty Legal Institute; Becky Farrar, Concerned Women for America/Texas; Cathie Adams, President of Texas Eagle Forum; Tim Lambert, President of Texas Home School Coalition; Texas Christian Coalition; Mark Levin, Young Conservatives of Texas; and Texas Citizens for a Sound Economy.

These groups will announce that they concur in the judgment of the American Bar Association and President Bush that Justice Owen is a “highly qualified” candidate for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. While not agreeing with every decision Justice Owen has ever rendered, these groups agree with the people of Texas who have elected her to the Texas Supreme Court that she is a highly qualified, independent mainstream justice.

The groups will also announce their condemnation of liberal special interests groups who oppose her nomination.

Texas Justice Foundation CEO & Founder, Allan E. Parker, stated: “The liberal special interest groups who oppose Justice Owen are demonstrating that they are out of touch with mainstream Texans and have no respect for the people of Texas. Justice Owen has been endorsed by the people of Texas and the majority of newspaper editors in this State as a highly qualified Justice. To say that she is not qualified is an attack on the judgment of the people of Texas.”

The Senate and the Senate Democrats should respect the will of the people of Texas and their judgment as to judicial qualifications. These non-partisan groups support high quality judges like Ms. Owen, no matter what party affiliation. For instance, each of the groups would strongly support former Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul Gonzalez, a Democrat, for either the Fifth Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The fact that the extreme left has set its sights on such a fair and qualified judge as Justice Owen demonstrates the depths to which the confirmation process has sunk. There is no basis for their attacks,” said Shackelford, chief counsel for the Liberty Legal Institute.

“Apparently, instead of judicial qualifications, the only qualification that the extreme left demands in a judge is mindless adherence to their left-wing activist agenda. If the Senate begins rejecting judges of Justice Owen’s caliber, the confirmation process will be reduced to a game of raw political power, permanently damaging our system of justice,” said Shackelford.