Lawyers’ Committee Urges Congressional Leaders to Stop Attacks on Federal Judges

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

For Immediate Release
Contact: Kim Alton
202 662-8600

April 29, 2005

Lawyers’ Committee Urges Congressional Leaders to Stop Attacks on Federal Judges

(Washington, DC) - The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (“Lawyers’ Committee”) today urged congressional leaders to reject recent inflammatory remarks made against federal judges by members of the federal legislative branch and any attempts to strip the federal courts of power.

In a pointed letter to congressional leaders, the Lawyers’ Committee expressed concern that congressional animosity towards federal judges is “a radical departure from the bedrock constitutional principle of separation of powers.” The letter calls upon Congress to “reject these attacks, which undermine public understanding of democratic government under the U.S. Constitution and jeopardize our freedoms.”

As an organization dedicated to enforcing the nation’s civil rights laws, the Lawyers’ Committee was compelled to speak out on this issue. “Unfortunately, our nation has experienced this scenario before as during the Reconstruction and civil rights eras, lawmakers harshly criticized judges and tried to strip controversial issues from the courts’ control,” said John S. Skilton, Co-Chair of the Lawyers’ Committee. “Ultimately, those attempts failed because the success of our democracy is rooted in the doctrine of separation of powers,” added Lawyers’ Committee Co-Chair Marjorie P. Lindblom.

The letter concludes by urging congressional leaders to “support the legitimacy of our constitutional structure and the critical role that an independent judiciary plays in it.”
The Lawyers’ Committee will continue to monitor this issue as events unfold surrounding federal judicial nominations.

The full text of the Lawyer’s Committee’s letter can be found at http://www.lawyerscommittee.org.

The Lawyers’ Committee is an over forty-year old nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination.