And The Nominees Are

NY Times (03.02.05):

"The Senate moved closer to a major partisan breakdown over judicial appointments on Tuesday as Democrats on the Judiciary Committee assailed one of President Bush's nominees and asserted he would not be confirmed to the bench. (M)inutes into a two-hour hearing, Democrats on the committee began pummeling (William G. Myers III, nominated for a slot on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals), a longtime lobbyist for the mining and ranching industries, as unfit for the federal bench." Emphasis supplied. Democrats on Senate Panel Pummel Judicial Nominee

"'The most anti-environmental candidate for the bench I have seen in 37 years in the Senate,' Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the committee's ranking Democrat, said." "Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said, 'Your record screams 'passionate advocate' and it doesn't even whisper 'impartial judge.' '" "Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, criticized Mr. Myers for his actions as the senior lawyer at the Interior Department, where he drafted a ruling that upheld a regulatory change allowing a foreign-owned gold mine to be established on Indian land in California. A federal judge later ruled that Mr. Myers's opinion misconstrued the 'clear mandate' of a federal law that, the judge said, was intended to prevent degradation of land. Mr. Feingold said that Mr. Myers met with the mine owners 127 times while refusing to meet with the Indian tribe." Yeah but hey, what about the golf club membership? Ha, ha. Here's something on another of ThePresident's nominees: White House nominee for judgeship practicing law without a license? Via ThinkProgress. White House press release, nominations to the Federal judiciary (02.14.05):

"Thomas B. Griffith, of Utah, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, vice Patricia M. Wald, retired." Nominations Sent to the Senate

Washington Post (06.21.04):

"Thomas B. Griffith, President Bush's nominee for the federal appeals court in Washington, has been practicing law in Utah without a state law license for the past four years, according to Utah state officials. Griffith, the general counsel for Brigham Young University since August 2000, had previously failed to renew his law license in Washington for three years while he was a lawyer based in the District. It was a mistake he attributed to an oversight by his law firm's staff. But that lapse in his D.C. license, reported earlier this month by The Washington Post, subsequently prevented Griffith from receiving a law license in Utah when he moved there." Emphasis supplied. Judicial Nominee Practiced Law Without License in Utah

He has graduated from law school, right?