M-LAW HAILS U.S. SENATE FOR TAKING ACTION TO FREE THE “MICHIGAN FOUR”
Judicial watchdog group also recognizes efforts of the Michigan Legislature
NOVI, Mich: 7/8/03: Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch (M-LAW) today lauded the U.S. Senate for helping advance the nominations of four Michigan judges to the 6th Circuit federal Court of Appeals.
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Yesterday, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Judiciary Committee Chair Orrin Hatch led a bipartisan coalition of senators in filing a discharge petition to try to free the “Michigan Four’ by forcing their nominations out of committee and onto the Senate floor for deliberation. “The U.S. Senate took extraordinary but much-needed action to address a looming judicial crisis facing Michigan citizens,” said Robert Dorigo Jones, president of M-LAW. “The action taken by these Senate leaders can help overcome what we believe is a pattern of abuse that is threatening Michigan citizens.” These 6th Circuit Court nominees enjoy a broad base of bi-partisan support, said Dorigo Jones, but for nearly two years all four of the judgeships reserved for Michigan have been empty while these nominations have languished in the Senate. |
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The reason? “Michigan's senators have used an archaic Senate tradition called the "blue slip" to block the nominations of all four justices,” explained Dorigo Jones. This tradition is rarely used in modern times, and has never been used by a senator to block a nominee at the Circuit Court level, he said.
“Justice for Michigan citizens is at grave risk,” continued Dorigo Jones. “The 6th Circuit has been identified by legal scholars and attorneys as being far slower than its counterparts, more overworked, less careful and less just. Even worse, if this opposition is not overcome, then these four seats traditionally filled by Michigan judges may instead end up going to judges from Ohio and Kentucky. Michigan's voice on the court will be completely lost.
“These blue slips against the entire slate of Michigan nominees to the 6th Circuit have the effect of not only unfairly disrupting the lives and threatening the careers of these outstanding, qualified judges, but they also deny basic rights of justice to the very people they are supposed to represent,” said Dorigo Jones.
“When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution,” added Dorigo Jones, “surely they did not intend for Senators to hold up every single judicial nomination from their state under the guise of ‘advice and consent.’ This, we believe, is an abuse of the legal system.”
Also today, both the Michigan House and Senate announced their intentions to pass resolutions asking the U.S. Senate to take action on the Michigan Four.
“M-LAW applauds the efforts of the Senate leadership to circumvent the partisan opposition to these nominations,” said Dorigo Jones. “We join with the Michigan legislature and others across Michigan in sending the message to Washington that our right to representation in the federal judiciary should not be denied any longer.”
The “Michigan Four” judges at issue here are: Richard Griffin, Michigan Court of Appeals; David McKeague, U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan; Susan Bieke Neilson, Circuit Court, Wayne County, Michigan; and Henry Saad, Michigan Court of Appeals.
“There is such widespread support for these outstanding judges that it is perplexing why their nominations have been allowed to languish in committee for this long,” said Dorigo Jones. “For example, Judge Neilson has been praised by a diverse group of leaders including John Engler, Michigan’s former governor, Thomas Kienbaum, past president of the State Bar of Michigan, and Jules Olsman, past president of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association. Judge Saad has been supported by Congressman Joe Knollenberg as well as the late Stephen Yokich, past president of the United Auto Workers.
“M-LAW believes it is now time for the U.S. Senate to vote on these Michigan nominations,” concluded Dorigo Jones.
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