Bush Appeals Court Choice Under Fire
WASHINGTON — California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown, President Bush's nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia, ran into skeptical questioning Wednesday from Senate Democrats for speeches in which she referred to the New Deal era as "the triumph of our socialist revolution" and disputed whether the Bill of Rights applied to the states.
Three years ago, Brown described herself in another speech as a "true conservative" who believes that "where the government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates
"Your speeches are extraordinarily intemperate for a sitting justice," Feinstein told Brown. "Is that the real you?" She and the other Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee said they were wary of approving her nomination to the Washington-based appeals court, whose judges determine the fate of many laws and government regulations.
Answering in a soft-spoken voice, Brown, 54, said she tried to be provocative at times, especially when speaking to groups of young conservatives. But the views she expressed were hers, she added.
"I don't have a speechwriter. I do these myself. And it speaks for itself," she said of her past addresses.
The state justice also sought to assure liberal-leaning senators that her conservative views would not shape her rulings as a judge. "I'm a principled judge, and not an ideologue of any persuasion," she said.
The hearing Wednesday featured a now-familiar partisan divide. Republicans, who hold a 10-9 majority on the committee, defended Brown's nomination, while the Democrats took turns questioning her in a skeptical tone.
If her nomination follows the recent pattern, Brown is likely to win approval in the committee by a narrow margin, but her final confirmation remains in doubt. Democrats have used their power under the Senate's filibuster rules to prevent final votes on three of Bush's judicial nominees: Miguel Estrada, a Washington lawyer; Priscilla R. Owen, a Texas state justice, and Alabama Atty. Gen. William H. Pryor Jr.
In addition, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl is awaiting a final vote in the Senate. All four nominees won approval in the Judiciary Committee on 10-9 votes.
If Brown wins Senate confirmation, the vacancy on the state high court would give incoming Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a chance to name a new justice.
