"We're going to see a philosophical revolution in the courts . . . It will be almost as profound as if Bork had been confirmed."

Conservative commentator Bruce Fein on the Republican capture of the Senate in November 2002.

"The Administration has handed judicial selection over to the Republican Party's right wing."
New York Times editorial, December 2002

What is at stake in the fight over judicial nominations is the continued ability of Congress to protect our civil rights and fundamental freedoms: the right to be free from discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability; the right to organize in a union and be protected by national labor standards; the right to clean air and water; and the right to equal opportunity in employment and education for all Americans. While many have fought for years to secure these rights, they are not secure without a federal judiciary ready to stand vigilant to protect them.

Americans who care about civil rights, worker rights, and consumer and environmental protections must wake up to the danger posed by allowing the radical right to control the Third Branch of government. They must demand that the Bush administration's nominate and that their senators only confirm judges who are committed to protect our basic rights and freedoms.

The following are examples of just some of the fundamental rights at stake in President Bush's nominations to the federal circuit courts of appeals.

Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity
Workers' Rights
Environmental Protections
State's Rights

Over the past several years, some of our nations most conservative courts of appeals, which have jurisdiction over regions of the country with very large minority populations, have not only limited the reach of affirmative action programs, but have put their very existence in jeopardy. Also, numerous courts of appeals have become increasingly hostile to claims of employment discrimination, including sexual harassment. These decisions significantly impact the economic and educational opportunities of thousands of women and minorities.

The decisions of federal appellate judges have a tremendous impact on the ability of workers to exercise their rights under laws providing critically important workplace protections. These include the right to the minimum wage and overtime compensation provided by the Fair Labor Standards Act; the right to unpaid leave for a serious illness of the worker or family member, or the birth or adoption of a child, provided by the Family and Medical Leave Act; the right to a safe workplace provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Act; and the right to organize a union and bargain over terms and conditions of employment, provided by the National Labor Relations Act. All these rights are in jeopardy.

Federal judges in recent years have slammed the courthouse doors in the face of citizens seeking to protect the environment, and have promoted legal theories that favor polluters and developers at the expense of communities, clean air, clean water, and land conservation. Decisions by the courts of appeal now allow states to place a disproportionate number of polluting factories in minority communities and to ignore Clean Water Act protections that prohibit "mountain-top removal" coal mining, one of the most environmentally devastating practices imaginable.

Starting in the 1980s, conservative federal courts across the nation have, in the name of "state's rights," pursued the right-wing agenda of undermining Congress's power to enact protective legislation. In a series of 5-4 decisions, the Rehnquist-led Supreme Court has severely limited Congress' ability to pass laws to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment, to protect women against gender-based violence, and to allow private plaintiffs to sue states for civil rights violations. Some right-wing advocates and lower court judges are threatening to limit Congress even further. This transformation of the legal landscape regarding the ability of Congress to provide effective remedies for civil rights and other violations puts in jeopardy 40 years of progress toward achieving equal justice for all.