October, 22 2020, 12:00am EDT
Rushed Judicial Confirmation Poses Severe Threat to Civil Rights, Damages Legitimacy of the Supreme Court
Barrett Threatens Voting Rights, Workers’ Rights, Criminal Justice
WASHINGTON
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-0 along party lines this morning to advance the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the full Senate, as Democrats boycotted. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated Barrett's nomination will be on the Senate floor by Monday. Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following statement:
"Chairman Graham's decision to race forward with the Judiciary Committee vote on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett is especially problematic given that her nomination and potential confirmation are taking place in the final days of an election where the President who nominated her is running for reelection. We have seen numerous instances in this election cycle where cases have come before the Supreme Court and the Court has issued rulings where there has been a split on the Court - including a 4-4 split in a Pennsylvania case where the Supreme Court was one vote short of overturning a decision of a state supreme court on an issue of state constitutional law, an area where the Supreme Court rarely interferes. Given that Judge Barrett has refused to say that she would recuse herself from any election cases that may arise in this year's ongoing election, moving forward with her confirmation now compromises the integrity of our democratic process."
Clarke continued: "During the course of the Committee's hearings, Barrett appallingly dodged fundamental questions about our democracy and civil rights--including a refusal to acknowledge voter intimidation was prohibited under federal law."
Background:
The national Lawyers' Committee has previously issued an opposition letter to Barrett's nomination, a report on Barrett's record and an article on key takeaways from the nomination hearings to showcase the threat she poses to civil rights.
The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar's leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity - work that continues to be vital today.
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Local and national media reported New York Police Department (NYPD) officers arrested 114 protesters and charged them with civil disobedience Monday after they blocked entrances to the Fed building. Most of those arrested were expected to be booked and released.
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The coalition also noted that the proposed CR betrays the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the bipartisan debt ceiling deal Biden and McCarthy negotiated earlier this year, as House Republicans nearly forced an economically catastrophic U.S. default.
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In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities president Sharon Parrott similarly stressed that "the proposed continuing resolution backed by Speaker McCarthy is trying to force a path to deep cuts that were rejected in the debt ceiling deal he agreed to with President Biden earlier this year."
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