March 24, 2005

Beyond the judicial filibuster

By Christopher Chantrill
On March 17, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent for consideration by the entire Senate the nomination of William G. Myers III to a seat on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.  Democrats have threatened to filibuster.  Republicans have threatened to change the Senate rules to eliminate filibusters on judicial nominations.  Right now, things are shaping up for the Battle of the Judicial Filibuster. Battles like these are rare because they are expensive and because they are risky.  Republicans choose to fight the battle over filibusters now because they don't want to fight it over a big Supreme Court nomination this summer when the stakes are so much higher.  And Democrats?  Yes, what exactly do Democrats expect to gain from a fight? It would be nice to get conservative judges confirmed in the Senate, but the judge problem is much bigger than that.  The problem is judicial activism, the growing practice of legislating from the bench. Tom Bethell...(Read Full Article)