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Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Estrada Nomination
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief
January 30, 2003
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - The Senate Judiciary Committee - in its first confirmation vote since Republicans regained control of the Senate in last fall's elections - passed the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District Columbia Thursday.
Estrada, who would be the first Hispanic to serve on that court, is opposed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus, along with a handful of other groups claiming to represent minority communities.
"When we talk about having representation from our community," wrote Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) in a news release Thursday, "we mean that we want to see nominees who represent our community with more than just a last name."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) bristled at the remarks.
"The problem is he's just not the right kind of Hispanic," Hatch said. "They believe he's conservative."
Comments by liberal Democrats on the Judiciary Committee seem to support Hatch's accusation.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized Estrada for answering, "I will follow the law," when asked to predict how he would rule on cases involving controversial topics like abortion and states' rights under the Tenth Amendment.
"If we confirm Miguel Estrada, we're ratifying a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy for judicial nominees," Schumer said. "By remaining silent, Mr. Estrada only buttressed the fear that he is a far-right stealth nominee."
Schumer - who said he is "scared about what will happen" if Estrada is confirmed - also complained about Estrada's perceived "judicial temperament." Hatch believes that phrase is a code for "political ideology."
"What really offends me is this attitude that you've got to agree with them ideologically or there's something wrong with the nominee," Hatch said. "Their ideology, by and large, is very, very far left. Most people in America don't agree with their ideology."
In his responses to written questions from the committee, Estrada described what he believes is the proper role for a federal jurist.
"In my view, federal judges may decide only concrete cases or controversies that properly come to them; they may not 'make law' or reach beyond the facts and circumstances of the particular case they must decide," Estrada wrote. "That limited judicial role flows from the text of the Constitution, the separation of powers inherent in our constitutional scheme, the federal-state balance and the presumption of validity that generally attaches to legislative actions."
Hatch believes that judicial philosophy - combined with Estrada's background - make him extremely well qualified to serve on the federal bench.
"What we try to do is get the most honest, decent, effective people we can possibly get, get them on the bench and count on them doing what's right," Hatch said.
Estrada is a magna cum laude graduate of both Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He is a former Supreme Court law clerk, assistant U.S. attorney and assistant U.S. solicitor general. He has twice received a unanimous rating of "well-qualified" from the American Bar Association.
President Bush first nominated Estrada in May 2001, but with Democrats in charge of the Senate, one hearing was held and no vote was taken. Estrada's nomination now goes to the full Senate, but even before his expected confirmation for the D.C. appeals court, Estrada is considered one of Bush's top choices for any vacancy that might occur on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Estrada Nomination
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief
January 30, 2003
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - The Senate Judiciary Committee - in its first confirmation vote since Republicans regained control of the Senate in last fall's elections - passed the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District Columbia Thursday.
Estrada, who would be the first Hispanic to serve on that court, is opposed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus, along with a handful of other groups claiming to represent minority communities.
"When we talk about having representation from our community," wrote Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) in a news release Thursday, "we mean that we want to see nominees who represent our community with more than just a last name."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) bristled at the remarks.
"The problem is he's just not the right kind of Hispanic," Hatch said. "They believe he's conservative."
Comments by liberal Democrats on the Judiciary Committee seem to support Hatch's accusation.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized Estrada for answering, "I will follow the law," when asked to predict how he would rule on cases involving controversial topics like abortion and states' rights under the Tenth Amendment.
"If we confirm Miguel Estrada, we're ratifying a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy for judicial nominees," Schumer said. "By remaining silent, Mr. Estrada only buttressed the fear that he is a far-right stealth nominee."
Schumer - who said he is "scared about what will happen" if Estrada is confirmed - also complained about Estrada's perceived "judicial temperament." Hatch believes that phrase is a code for "political ideology."
"What really offends me is this attitude that you've got to agree with them ideologically or there's something wrong with the nominee," Hatch said. "Their ideology, by and large, is very, very far left. Most people in America don't agree with their ideology."
In his responses to written questions from the committee, Estrada described what he believes is the proper role for a federal jurist.
"In my view, federal judges may decide only concrete cases or controversies that properly come to them; they may not 'make law' or reach beyond the facts and circumstances of the particular case they must decide," Estrada wrote. "That limited judicial role flows from the text of the Constitution, the separation of powers inherent in our constitutional scheme, the federal-state balance and the presumption of validity that generally attaches to legislative actions."
Hatch believes that judicial philosophy - combined with Estrada's background - make him extremely well qualified to serve on the federal bench.
"What we try to do is get the most honest, decent, effective people we can possibly get, get them on the bench and count on them doing what's right," Hatch said.
Estrada is a magna cum laude graduate of both Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He is a former Supreme Court law clerk, assistant U.S. attorney and assistant U.S. solicitor general. He has twice received a unanimous rating of "well-qualified" from the American Bar Association.
President Bush first nominated Estrada in May 2001, but with Democrats in charge of the Senate, one hearing was held and no vote was taken. Estrada's nomination now goes to the full Senate, but even before his expected confirmation for the D.C. appeals court, Estrada is considered one of Bush's top choices for any vacancy that might occur on the U.S. Supreme Court.