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Release| For Immediately Release:
September 5, 2002 |
Contact: Craig McDonald,
512-472-9770
|
Statement of Craig L. McDonald,
Director, Texans for Public Justice on Priscilla Owen’s
Rejection by the Senate Judiciary Committee
“Priscilla Owen’s rejection by the Senate Judiciary Committee is a major victory for women, workers, minorities and consumers. It is also a signal to President Bush that ideological court packing will not be tolerated. Judges who view the bench as a vehicle for their own political agendas do not merit promotion.Some pundits will argue that partisan politics prompted Owen’s rejection. But many Republican jurists within the ideological mainstream have and will continue to win Senate confirmation. Senators rejected Owen because of her record as an activist Texas Supreme Court justice who repeatedly ruled against reproductive rights, open government, environmental protection and workers and consumers. Simply, Owen too often used the power of the bench to promote her own ultra-conservative, pro-corporate views. Owen was out of the mainstream, even by Texas standards.
We encourage President Bush to nominate a mainstream jurist to serve on the 5th Circuit.”
I want to thank all the organizations and individuals both in Texas and throughout the country that saw this nomination fight as fundamentally important to the cause of justice and generously gave their time and energy.”
Texans for Public Justice is a non-partisan research
and advocacy organization that monitors money in Texas judicial campaigns
and supports fundamental judicial selection reform in Texas. TPJ
has been a leading opponent of Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen’s
confirmation to serve on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court. For TPJ reports,
fact-sheets, etc. on Owen, visit www.tpj.org