CrimLaw

Skirmishes on the

9th Circuit

and

4th Circuit

As noted in How Appealing, the NY Times has an op-ed piece about Judge Kuhl's appointment to fill a position on the 9th Circuit:

"President Bush does not appear to be troubled by Carolyn Kuhl's way-out-of-the-mainstream judgment in . . . a number of [cases]. He's nominated her to a seat on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is one step down from the Supreme Court."

Personally, I have problems with the idea that the NYTimes has any clue as to what the "mainstream" is. And the Ninth Circuit could probably use someone who can write an opinion that the federal supreme court might uphold.

"Democrats are fighting the nomination as part of their thankless task of trying to block at least the worst of Mr. Bush's judicial appointments."

As I've said before, I entirely support the Democrats' right to do this but if the Republicans play hardball too the Democrats have nothing to whine about (they will, but they have no grounds).

The Times-Dispatch provides more balanced observations about the appointment of Claude A. Allen:

Critics may be challenged to neatly classify Allen, whose political history and personality sometimes seem contradictory.

He is a Republican and an African-American who publicly espouses the "compassionate conservatism" of the Bush political platform. Yet he worked early in his career as a campaign aide for then-U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms in North Carolina, whose brand of conservatism carried brass knuckles and some of the South's segregationist past.

In an interview with The Times-Dispatch in January 1998, Allen said of Helms: "I looked at the issues I was told I shouldn't agree with him about, such as abortion and issues related to being black, the Voting Rights Act and women. They were not things I would agree with, [but] in many cases, he had a very logical position."

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