JALSA has been speaking out on the Bush Administration's efforts
to award federal judgeships to right-wing extremists. The latest effort to
confirm Supreme Court nominee US Circuit Judge John Roberts Jr., is a step
in the goal of conservatives to control the last branch of government, the
judiciary.
Roberts, a member of the neo-conservative
Federalist Society, is being lauded by the media as affable. At the
same time that the White House is selling Roberts as a "nice guy," they're
refusing to release documents that may provide crucial information as to
Roberts' suitability for the position.
The following is from
People for the American Way
Roberts’s record is a disturbing one. Among other things, Roberts is
hostile to women’s reproductive freedom, and he has taken positions in
religious liberty and free speech cases that were detrimental to those
fundamental rights. Roberts has limited judicial experience, but even his
short tenure as a judge raises serious concerns about his ideology and
judicial philosophy. For example, dissenting opinions by Roberts have
questioned the constitutionality of the Endangered Species Act and argued
that Americans tortured by Iraq when it was a terrorist state can receive
no compensation. This preliminary review of Roberts’s record indicates
that it falls far short of demonstrating the commitment to fundamental
civil and constitutional rights that should be shown by a Supreme Court
nominee. Click here to
read the full report.
We urge JALSA members to call or
email Senator Kennedy (617)565-3170. Call or
email Senator Kerry (617) 565-8519 and ask them to OPPOSE the
confirmation of US Circuit Judge John Roberts Jr.,
