Foe of Women's Rights Headed for Nation's Second Highest Court

By Linda Berg, Political Director

April 15, 2005

On April 14 the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Thomas Griffith for U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by a vote of 14 to 4. The nomination will now be sent to the full Senate for approval, which appears likely.

Although NOW expected Senate Republicans to rubber stamp the nomination, we were extremely disappointed that the only Senate Democrats who stood up to the President and voted to reject this ethically-challenged nominee were Senators Patrick Leahy, Vt., Edward Kennedy, Mass., Joseph Biden, Del., and Russell Feingold, Wis.

Not only did this nominee have serious ethical problems (he practiced law without a license in two different states), but he also lacked a fundamental commitment to women's equality. Griffith served on a Bush administration commission charged with examining Title IX, the federal law which protects against sex discrimination in education, and he worked actively on that committee to undermine the law's protections. Examination of Griffith's record left no question that women's rights would be jeopardized by his confirmation.

So where were Senators Dianne Feinstein, Richard Durbin, Herbert Kohl and Chuck Schumer when women's rights needed to be protected? Have they succumbed to Republican pressure, fearful of being labeled obstructionists? Feinstein was quoted as saying that part of the reason she supported Griffith was as a show of "good faith" toward the Bush administration.

One of the most important duties of a Senator is that of "advice and consent" to administration appointments and judicial nominations. The Senate's confirmation of judges is an important part of the system of "checks and balances" that are supposed to prevent abuses of power by one branch. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is considered the second highest court in the nation because it has jurisdiction over all appeals regarding the actions of governmental agencies, and service on that court can be a stepping stone to the Supreme Court.

"We are disappointed that Senators Feinstein, Durbin, Kohl and Schumer, who ran as champions of women's rights, have let down millions of women and girls who have been led to expect equal educational opportunities," said NOW President Kim Gandy.

If you live in their states, please call those senators' offices and express your dismay that they did not stand up for women and girls. Most importantly, we urge women's rights supporters in Vermont, Massachusetts, Delaware and Wisconsin to call the offices of Senators Leahy, Kennedy, Biden and Feingold to thank them for standing up for women.

The congressional switchboard number is 202-224-312. Find additional contact information for your senator on NOW's legislative action page.