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March 4, 2005
President Bush's continued attempt to stack the federal judiciary with right-wing extremists threatens all Americans. Case in point: Terrence Boyle, Bush's re-nominated choice for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. Boyle's record of judicial incompetence and hostility to civil rights deserves heightened scrutiny.
- Boyle's judicial record is rife with incompetence and errors. Judge Boyle, a former Jesse Helms protégé, has been trying to win a seat on the Fourth Circuit since he was first nominated in 1991. The problem? He's just not a very good judge. The Fourth Circuit is considered one of the most conservative circuits in the entire country and even it has repeatedly found Boyle to be too radical in his judgments. The Fourth Circuit has had to reverse Boyle's decisions a whopping 150 times for errors in judgment and fundamental legal mistakes.
- Boyle has repeatedly shown hostility to African Americans. Boyle is opposed by a large number of groups for his dismal civil rights record. For example, during the 1990 redistricting of North Carolina's congressional districts, the state created a district to reflect the strong African American population of the area. Boyle tried to block the district's creation and twice declared it unconstitutional. His decision was reversed twice by the Supreme Court. In his opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas found Boyle's ruling was "clearly erroneous."
- Boyle works against equal protections for women. In another case, Boyle fought against protecting women in the workplace from discrimination in North Carolina, claiming the state should be exempt from federal anti-bias laws because they were against the state's "culture." The Fourth Circuit overturned Boyle's decision, stating his ruling "constituted an abuse of discretion."
Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund. |
Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund. |
