CSE: End the Filibuster of Judicial Nominees

This week, a renegade minority in the Senate continued to filibuster several highly qualified judicial nominees who probably have the support of a majority of the Senate. We can’t know that, however, until the full Senate is able to hold a vote.

On Tuesday, for example, another attempt to override the filibuster of judicial nominee Priscilla Owen failed in the U.S. Senate. Although 53 Senators supported holding a clean vote on the Owen nomination, sixty votes were needed to defeat Senate obstructionists who continue to logjam the judicial selection process.

Priscilla Owens is nominated to the Fifth Circuit, which has so few judges that her seat is classified as a “judicial emergency.” Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) supports an orderly, functioning judiciary– led by judges who respect Constitutional limits on governmental power– as an essential element of our economic freedom and growth. CSE members have been rallying in Michigan and other states to demand prompt votes on all of President Bush’s judicial nominees.

CSE President Paul Beckner said the following:

“A Senate minority is holding our nation’s justice system hostage. Priscilla Owens, Miguel Estrada, and Bill Pryor are all highly qualified, mainstream nominees who enjoy bi-partisan support. And a number of other nominees are bottled up in the Judiciary Committee.”

“It’s time to stop using our judicial system to settle partisan political scores. These judicial nominees deserve a fair up-and-down vote by the full Senate, especially since many courts are already operating on a ‘judicial emergency’ basis. CSE Members across the country will continue to take action and demand fair treatment, and a prompt vote for these nominees.”