WASHINGTON, DC (March 18, 2003) – The Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) condemns the continued effort of Senate Democrats to oppose by dishonorable means the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
In May 2001, President Bush nominated Estrada, a Washington lawyer, to the D.C. Circuit. Estrada left his native Honduras at age 17 and spoke little English. Yet within several years, he graduated with honors from two ivy league institutions – Columbia College and Harvard Law School. “Estrada is an immigrant success story of whom all Americans can be proud,” says IWF Senior Fellow for Legal Policy Jennifer C. Braceras.
A former deputy solicitor general of the United States and now a partner in the prestigious Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm, Estrada has argued 15 cases before the United States Supreme Court. Notes Braceras, “Even the American Bar Association has given him its highest rating.”
“Although a filibuster has never before been used to scuttle an appellate court nomination, Democrats are willing to resort to this drastic measure in order to appease the left-wing special-interest groups who oppose Estrada.
“We are saddened to see a dignified and highly-esteemed lawyer like Miguel Estrada singled out for discriminatory treatment by the United States Senate. If Senators have legitimate reasons to oppose Mr. Estrada, they should state those reasons on the record and, by all means, vote their consciences. But they should stop denying this man due process by blocking a Senate vote,” comments Braceras.
IWF condemns the use of this obstructionist tactic, and calls upon the members of the United States Senate to end the filibuster and vote up or down on the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
The Independent Women’s Forum, founded in 1992, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization.