Judiciary

Republicans Threaten to Block Obama's Judges

In a letter released yesterday, all 41 Senate Republicans threatened to filibuster President Obama's judicial nominees unless they were given veto power over judges from their states. "The Republicans are doing everything in their power to cement their reputation as the 'Party of No,'" said PFAW President Kathryn Kolbert. "Voters gave President Obama a mandate to appoint judges who understand that the Constitution and the laws provide for equal justice for all. Now, before a single nomination has been announced, Republicans are threatening to block every single one of Obama's nominees. That's chutzpah."
Read more

Beyond the Sigh of Relief: Justices in the Role of Marshall and Brennan

Transcript of an event at the National Press Club about nominating and confirming justices who will defend personal freedoms and fundamental rights.
Read more 1 attachment

Discussion on Obama and the Future of the Supreme Court

On December 9, People For the American Way Foundation will present a panel discussion entitled "Beyond the Sigh of Relief: Justices in the Mold of Marshall and Brennan" to examine what an ideal justice looks like in the twenty-first century. What: "Beyond the Sigh of Relief: Justices in the Mold of Marshall and Brennan"; When: December 9, 2008, 2:30 p.m.; Who: Kathryn Kolbert (moderator), Julius Chambers, Dahlia Lithwick, John Payton, and Jamin Raskin
Read more

Television Ads Focus on Senators' Support for Harmful Bush Supreme Court Justices

TV ads airing this week in Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Oregon focus on the harmful impact of key senators' votes to confirm Bush nominees Samuel Alito and John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court and urges them to stop supporting bad judges.

Read more

Obama Wins Mandate on the Courts

A post-election memo from PFAW on how yesterday's results "delivered a sweeping mandate for President-elect Obama to appoint federal judges who are committed to core constitutional values."
Read more

The Human Toll: How Individual Americans Have Fared at the Hands of Bush Judges

People For the American Way Foundation has documented in a series of reports the damage that Bush nominated judges have done to the Constitution — and to Americans' ability to seek and expect justice in the federal courts when challenging unlawful treatment by corporations, government agencies, and other powerful entities. This report looks at a selection of cases with an eye to the human cost of a federal judiciary dominated by an ideology that is all too willing to sacrifice individual rights and legal protections.
Read more

The State of the Judiciary and the Bush Legacy

A report about the how the long-lasting part of President George W. Bush's legacy will be the weakening of Americans' rights and legal protections due to the dangerous state of the federal judiciary created by judges he has placed on the federal bench.
Read more

Report: McCain-Bush Judges Take a Toll on Ordinary Americans

As part of its Supreme Court campaign, People For the American Way cites a report released today by its affiliated Foundation titled The Human Toll: How Individual Americans Have Fared at the Hands of Bush Judges. The report collects some of the stories of American men, women, and children whose cases have come before judges nominated by George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate. "George Bush's judges have done irreparable harm to real people in our nation," said People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert, who also pointed out that John McCain has supported 100% of Bush's judicial nominees. "President Bush has largely succeeded in reshaping the judiciary in his own image, and he's had the support of John McCain every step of the way."
Read more Read the Report

Janice Rogers Brown

Despite Senate Democrats' filibuster of Janice Rogers Brown in 2003, President Bush renominated Brown to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in early 2005. Brown's record as a California Supreme Court justice raised serious concerns about her fitness, but she was nonetheless confirmed as part of the "Gang of 14" compromise to prevent the so-called "nuclear option" that would have eliminated judicial filibusters.
Read more

Undermining the Bill of Rights: The Bush Administration Detention Policy

Last week the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments concerning the Executive Branch's right to unilaterally strip citizens of core constitutional rights. People For the American Way Foundation believes the government's "enemy combatants" and detention policies -- the heart of the case before the high court -- violate fundamental principles enshrined in our Constitution, such as the separation of powers and due process of law, and actually threaten progress in the war on terror and America's campaign for greater freedom and democracy around the world. Read the powerful new PFAWF report on these policies.

Read more 1 attachment

PFAW Report on William G. Myers III

Mining, coal and cattle industry lobbyist William G. Myers III is President Bush’s latest nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Myers has amassed an incredible record of promoting environmental degradation and harm to the interests of Native Americans, both from his position as an industry lobbyist and from a short stint as solicitor for the Bush Administration Department of the Interior.

Read more 1 attachment

Confirmed Judges Confirm Our Worst Fears

This report shows that many of the George W. Bush's nominees that have already been confirmed to lifetime seats on the federal judiciary threaten the rights of ordinary Americans.
Read more 1 attachment

Courting Disaster 2005

What would the actual impact be on Americans' rights and freedoms if the views of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas become the majority views on the Supreme Court? This report examines Scalia's and Thomas's opinions to answer that question, focusing on cases in which Scalia and Thomas have been in the minority on the Court, and the answer is nothing short of chilling.

Read more 2 attachments

The Federalist Society: From Obscurity to Power

Most Americans know very little about--or have even heard of--the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. Yet the Society has assumed a leading role in shaping the Bush administration's legal policies and judicial nominees. This report released August 1 by People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) provides much-needed information and insight on the organization.

Read more 1 attachment
Share this page: Facebook Twitter Digg SU Digg Delicious