ACLJ Urges Senate to End Filibusters for Judicial Nominees.WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Center The American Center is a high-rise tower in Southfield, Michigan. It was built in 1975 and stands at 26 floors, with one basement floor, for a total of 27. The building's main use is that of a typical office tower. It also includes a parking garage and retail spaces. for Law and Justice, which specializes in constitutional law, today asked the leadership of the U.S. Senate to change its rules to bring an end to the crippling use of filibusters against judicial nominees. "The filibuster filibuster, term used to designate obstructionist tactics in legislative assemblies. It has particular reference to the U.S. Senate, where the tradition of unlimited debate is very strong. It was not until 1917 that the Senate provided for cloture (i.e. is being used as an obstructionist ob·struc·tion·ist n. One who systematically blocks or interrupts a process, especially one who attempts to impede passage of legislation by the use of delaying tactics, such as a filibuster. tactic - designed to prevent an up-or-down vote on judicial nominees - a move that is not only wrong, but unconstitutional," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ ACLJ American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (Washington, DC) , which has prepared a legal memorandum on the subject. "The issue of judicial nominees was very important to the electorate. With more than 60-million voters propelling President Bush to a second term - and the defeat of filibuster advocate Senator Daschle - it's clear that the American people An American people may be:
The ACLJ has sent letters to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee The U.S. Senate established the Committee on the Judiciary on December 10, 1816, as one of the original 11 standing committees. It is also one of the most powerful committees in Congress; among its wide range of jurisdictions is investigation of federal judicial nominees and oversight of - urging them to act to change Senate rules - bringing an end to the 60 votes required to cut-off cut-off Anesthesiology The point at which elongation of the carbon chain of the 1-alkanol family of anesthetics results in a precipitous drop in the anesthetic potential of these agents–eg, at > 12 carbons in length, there is little anesthetic activity, a filibuster. The ACLJ also provided Senate members with two legal memoranda (posted online at http://www.aclj.org/Issues/Resources/ Document.aspx?ID=865) detailing options available for a rules change and urges the leadership to utilize one of two options to change the rules. Under the "New Congress Option," the Senate has power to set its own procedural rules and at the beginning of the next congressional session - with a simple majority vote - can make the necessary changes needed to prohibit filibusters from being used against judicial nominees. The second option available to the Senate is the "Constitutional Option" and permits the Senate to adopt rules for its proceedings free from the constraints imposed under the rules held over from prior Congresses. With this option, the Senate can act at any time during its session and move to change the cloture The procedure by which debate is formally ended in a meeting or legislature so that a vote may be taken. Cloture is a means of terminating a filibuster, which is a prolonged speech on the floor of the Senate designed to forestall legislative action. rule regarding filibusters. "As the nation continues to face critical vacancies in the federal judiciary - and the likelihood of vacancies on the Supreme Court - the Constitution requires that the Senate's duty is to provide advice and consent regarding nominees," said Sekulow. "That means judicial nominees should receive an up-or-down vote by the Senate - not have nominations put on hold with the use of a filibuster." The American Center for Law and Justice is based in Washington, D.C. and its website address is www.aclj.org. |
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