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IBEW Opposes Pickering Nomination To Bench; Urges Members to Act  

January 10, 2003

Charles W. Pickering Sr, has again been nominated by President Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Last year, the IBEW joined the AFL-CIO, the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, the NAACP, and other civil rights organizations in opposing this nomination. We see nothing new that would change our position.

"Judge Pickerings record raises significant questions about his suitability for a lifetime appointment to a high federal court," said IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill. "Frankly, I have to question President Bushs commitment to equality and racial healing when he makes this re-nomination only weeks after Senator Lotts resignation as majority leader exposed just how far we have to go."

The Fifth Circuit, which covers Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, is home to one of the highest concentrations of racial and ethnic minorities in the country. From his days as a law student to the present, Judge Pickering's background and record raises concerns about his understanding and commitment to civil rights:

• As a law student, Judge Pickering wrote an article in the Mississippi Law Review suggesting how the Mississippi legislature could provide for the imposition of criminal penalties for interracial marriage.
   
• During his time as a state senator, Pickering cast several votes that denied full electoral opportunities to African American voters.
   
• Pickering also voted for a resolution calling on the Mississippi Congressional delegation to "take immediate action to force repeal" of the Occupation Health and Safety Act. Among other provisions, the resolution stated that the presence of OSHA threatened to "enslave us all," and that the OSHA law "violates certain fundamental American principles of government, and actually sounds like more like a Communist or Fascist state dictatorship."

The Senate should insist on balance, moderation, and a sense of fairness in judicial nominees. Please help defeat this nomination by sending a message to your representative.

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