Todd Cox, Director of Policy at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., issued the following statement in response to the Senate confirmation yesterday of seven of President Trump’s district court nominees:
“The seven judges confirmed yesterday will all sit on the federal bench for life, giving them the power to shape American jurisprudence for decades to come. In less than two years, this Senate continues to confirm judges without properly vetting them at an alarming pace. Many of them were handpicked by the Federalist Society, a group determined to undermine our nation’s civil rights statutes; one of them was deemed unqualified by the American Bar Association. Even as we focus on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, we must not lose sight of this administration’s ongoing efforts to pack the federal judiciary with judges hostile to the laws and precedents that protect civil rights and promote racial justice in the United States. With the confirmation of eight more district court judges to be considered next week, we urge Senators of both parties to carefully examine the record and qualifications of all nominees to our federal courts. Whether it’s Judge Brett Kavanaugh or a lower court nominee, each Senator must spend time thoroughly reviewing the administration’s choices for our courts, decelerate this breakneck pace and recommit to its obligation to advise and consent on judicial nominees by vigorously vetting them.”
###
Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
