ConfirmThem

By Paul Zummo Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Here's another piece from the Washington Post today. This one discusses Boyle's confirmation hearings and how he might face a difficult battle.

Several liberal groups oppose Boyle, a onetime aide to retired senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), saying he is unacceptably conservative on workplace discrimination and voting rights questions. Republicans say he has proved his independence and fairness in his 20 years on the federal bench, and deserves the long-awaited advancement.

Today's hearing may help Senate Democrats decide whether to add Boyle to a short list of appellate court nominees they hope to block with filibusters, contending that the appointees are outside the political mainstream. The impasse has set GOP and Democratic senators on an apparent collision course unless a truce is reached in the next few weeks.

. . . Boyle "has the worst reversal rate of all the district court judges nominated [to appellate courts] by President Bush, and his rulings reflect a judicial philosophy that is very damaging to the rights of average Americans," said Ralph G. Neas, president of People for the American Way. Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, said Boyle is unfit for the higher court and has "demonstrated a sustained hostility to civil rights."

But a number of prominent North Carolina lawyers, some of them Democrats, have praised Boyle's record as a judge. A recent editorial in the News and Observer of Raleigh -- which often feuded with Helms -- said Boyle "is well qualified and respected by many lawyers and other judges, but he was caught in the crossfire of partisan warfare."

Boyle's critics often cite a 1998 North Carolina congressional redistricting case in which he struck down a district drawn to include a large number of black voters. Boyle ruled that the state legislature had relied too heavily on racial factors in shaping the district.

The Supreme Court, in an opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas, overturned the ruling. It said Boyle erred in finding that race was "the predominant factor" in the process.