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Monday, November 16, 2009

Ind. Courts - Lugar and Sessions on Judge Hamilton

Jessia Brady of Roll Call reported at 3:49 PM this afternoon:

Senate Judiciary ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said Monday that he will filibuster the nomination of David Hamilton to serve on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“I think I will support not going forward,” Sessions told reporters, criticizing Hamilton’s record as a district court judge in southern Indiana.

Sessions said Hamilton’s past rulings on abortion rights and prayer present “extraordinary” circumstances for a Senate filibuster, although he predicted the nomination will still be approved by the Senate this week. Senators are scheduled to vote on a procedural motion Tuesday to begin considering Hamilton’s nomination. The Judiciary Committee approved the pick along party lines in June.

Sessions also dismissed claims that Republicans are stalling action on judicial nominees or trying to run the clock on floor time to stem action on health care reform. In the case of Dawn Johnsen, President Barack Obama’s controversial choice to lead the Office of Legal Counsel, Sessions noted that bipartisan opposition has kept Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) from pushing her confirmation.

“They complain about that one. Why don’t they file cloture? They probably don’t have the votes,” Sessions said.

Maureen Groppe of the Gannett New Service reported a few minutes later:
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Richard Lugar defended Indiana Judge David Hamilton on Monday against criticism from fellow GOP senators that Hamilton is outside the mainstream. * * *

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Hamilton's nomination should be stopped because he's used his position as a federal district judge “to drive a political agenda.”

But Lugar, R-Ind., said a closer look at Hamilton's record shows he has not been a judicial activist and “has ruled objectively and within the judicial mainstream.”

One of Hamilton's rulings that has been most criticized is his 2005 decision that prayers said at the start of the Indiana House of Representatives sessions must not mention Jesus Christ or advance any religion.

Sessions said that while Hamilton prohibited specific mentions of Jesus, he allowed prayers that mentioned Allah.

Lugar said Hamilton's ruling was clear that legislative prayer advancing the religion of Islam would be prohibited, but that using Allah as a generic reference to the deity could be used in a non-sectarian prayer the way the word God is generically used.

“I support a more permissive approach to public prayer than Judge Hamilton,” Lugar said, “but clearly his ruling comports with Supreme Court authority.”

With Lugar's support, Democrats need all but one of the Senate's 58 Democrats and two Independents to vote for Hamilton to stop the filibuster.

After that vote, Republicans can insist on 30 hours of floor debate before a final vote on the nomination, which needs the support of only 50 senators. * * *

Lugar said in his floor speech that the confirmation process “should not be based on partisan considerations” and he has known David Hamilton since Hamilton's childhood and Hamilton's father was the Lugar family's pastor.

“Knowing first-hand his family's character and commitment to service,” Lugar said, “it has been no surprise to me that David's life has borne witness to the values learned in his youth.”

[More] Here is Sylvia A Smith's report, Smith is the Washington editor of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Her story comparing the positions of the two Senators begins:
WASHINGTON – The leading critic of a Hoosier nominee for federal judge has it all wrong, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., told his colleagues Monday.

Lugar said David Hamilton, President Obama’s first nominee for a federal appeals court post, "has not been a judicial activist and has ruled objectively and within the judicial mainstream."

The allegation was made by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who said Hamilton is unqualified, pushes a political agenda from the bench and should be rejected. Sessions is the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee.

The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to stop a filibuster on Hamilton’s confirmation. Since June, Republicans have refused to permit a vote on Hamilton’s confirmation. Lugar will vote to end debate and allow the confirmation vote.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 16, 2009 06:48 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts