October 20, 2006
Contact: Sean Rushton (202) 481-6853 Washington, DC - a coalition of center-right groups, including the Coalition For a Fair Judiciary, Committee For Justice, Third Branch Conference, FRCAction, Fidelis America, American Center for Law and Justice, and Judicial Confirmation Network today circulated the following oath to U.S. Senate candidates:
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October 20, 2006
I, ____________________, pledge to the voters of the State of ___________________ and the citizens of the United States that:
I will work to see that everyone duly nominated to serve on the federal judiciary gets a fair confirmation process, including the following:
1) Nominees reaching the Senate floor shall get a timely up or down vote free from substantial delay, including filibuster;
2) If I serve on the Judiciary Committee, I will oppose any arbitrary obstacles that would prevent nominees moving out of committee, absent clear evidence of disqualification.
The coalition also attached the following letter:
Dear Candidate X:
One of the most important duties of a United States Senator is the review and confirmation of federal judges.
The judicial confirmation process is broken. Recent years have seen abuse of Senate procedures such as filibusters, anonymous holds, and simply never calling a vote on numerous nominees.
Men and women of outstanding character and experience have been blocked indefinitely by a process that increasingly sees ideological litmus tests as the legitimate measure of all nominees.
The cost? At the least, a nominations process hopelessly twisted in partisan stalemate. At the worst, the Constitution itself undermined. With the likelihood that a United States Supreme Court vacancy will occur in the next few years, the importance to both parties of restoring reason and fairness to the confirmations process is of great significance.
Voters need to know what they can expect of a U.S. Senator once he or she reaches that venerable chamber. Will you be a Senator who contributes to the obstruction and procedural abuse, or one who believes the rules should stay the same whoever is in the White House and Congress?
Attached is a copy of the Fair Judiciary Oath for your review. If you agree with the oath, please sign and return via fax no later than 5 PM EST, Wednesday, October 25, 2006....
Sincerely,
KAY DALY
President
Coalition for a Fair Judiciary
CONNIE MACKEY
Senior Vice President
FRCAction
SEAN RUSHTON
Executive Director
Committee for Justice
MANUEL MIRANDA
Chairman
Third Branch Conference
JAY SEKULOW
Chief Counsel
American Center for Law and Justice
JOSEPH J. CELLA
President
Fidelis America
GARY MARX
Executive Director
Judicial Confirmation Network