|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2003
Doug Kendall, 202-296-6889 x.3
doug@communityrights.org
President Bush has broken his promise to appoint judges who
will interpret the law and not legislate from the bench. He
promised the American people judges who would exercise restraint,
but his nominees include judicial activists who would overturn
environmental laws to further their ideological goals. For
example:
- Sixth Circuit nominee Jeffrey Sutton has vigorously advocated
against federal protection of waters and wetlands that serve
as critical habitat for migratory birds; against private
actions for victims of environmental injustice; and against
attorneys fees for successful environmental plaintiffs.
After vigorously defending Sutton as just "a lawyer
representing a client," the Administration has recently
nominated Sutton's client, Alabama AG Bill Pryor, to the
Eleventh Circuit.
- Ninth Circuit nominee Carolyn Kuhl advocated overturning
Supreme Court precedent in order to deny environmental and
other groups the standing to protect the rights of their
members in court.
- Victor Wolski, nominated to the Court of Federal Claims,
is a self-professed ideologue who has spent much of his
career working with an industry-funded legal group that
specializes in challenging environmental legislation in
court. As he told the National Journal in 1999, "every
single job I've taken since college has been ideologically
orientated, trying to further my principles."
President Bush's choices for lifetime seats on the federal
bench should be truly conservative and respect the nation's
legislative decisions to protect America's natural resources.
The environmental community has worked hard for 30 years to
pass laws that safeguard the public's health, safety, and
the environment. We don't need liberal judges; we need judges
who will act with restraint, be faithful to precedent, and
uphold these important protections.
###
|
