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Tell Harry Reid: Don’t Back Down
Senate majority leader Bill Frist made clear yesterday that he’s willing
to go against the weight of public opinion to push through radical judicial
nominees like Terrence Boyle and Bill Pryor. The Bazelon Center and ADA Watch/the
National Coalition for Disability Rights need your help to urge minority leader
Harry Reid to stand just as strongly against confirmation of these judicial
activists.
The rights of millions of Americans with mental and physical disabilities
are at stake:
The Fourth Circuit, to which Boyle has been nominated, covers North Carolina,
South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. More than 3.1 million
people with disabilities live in these states, according to U.S. Census
data.(1)
The Eleventh Circuit, where Pryor would serve if confirmed, is made up
of Florida, Georgia and Alabama. More than 3.6 million people with disabilities
live in these states, according to U.S. Census data.(2)
Both Boyle and Pryor have long records of hostility toward civil rights protections
for people with disabilities:
As a result of Pryor’s arguments in Garrett v. Board of Trustees
of Univ. of Alabama, the Supreme Court ruled to limit dramatically application
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employment discrimination.
Patricia Garrett, and thousands more, lost the right to seek monetary damages
from their employers for discrimination on the basis of disability. Pryor’s
reasoning in the case has been used in attempts to further limit the ADA’s
scope and enforcement.
Boyle has ruled that Congress overstepped its authority in providing
certain protections to people with disabilities under the ADA. His reasoning
in these decisions was rejected last May by the Supreme Court in Tennessee
v. Lane. In fact, an extraordinary number of Boyle's decisions have been
reversed or overruled by higher courts and many of his positions have been
so extreme that even judges on the conservative Fourth Circuit criticized
his reading as too narrow.
Senator Frist and others are obstinate in their support for judges like Boyle
and Pryor who have undermined civil rights protections. Americans with disabilities
deserve champions who will fight even harder to prevent confirmation of judges
who would threaten the rights of people with disabilities.
Make the Call: Contact Senator Reid’s Washington
office to urge him to stand firm in the fight over radical judicial nominees
like Terrence Boyle and Bill Pryor.
Senator Reid’s Washington Office: (202) 224-3542
Once you’ve been connected, ask to speak to the Legislative Assistant
handling judicial nominations and urge him/her to oppose any compromise that
would allow Terrence Boyle or Bill Pryor to be confirmed.
Alternately, you may wish to contact one of Senator Reid’s offices
in Nevada:
Las Vegas: (702) 388-5020
Reno: (775) 686-5750
Carson City: (775) 882-7343
Send an Email:
Use our e-advocacy system to send Senator Reid a loud, clear message that
you oppose Boyle and Pryor and that he should, too.
Fast Facts on Terrence Boyle
Boyle was first nominated to the Fourth Circuit on the recommendation
of former Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC).
As a district court judge, Boyle was reversed by the Fourth Circuit, known
as an extremely conservative court, in more than 150 cases, including dozens
of cases involving civil rights and criminal justice issues, according
to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
In Butler v. Burroughs Wellcome, Inc., Terrence Boyle required
a plaintiff whose psychiatric disability allegedly resulted from past physical
and sexual abuse to allow defendants unlimited access to her entire medical
history.
Bill Pryor is the former Attorney General of Alabama. Pryor, who did
not win Senate confirmation of his nomination to the Eleventh Circuit Court
of Appeals last year, has been re-nominated by President Bush to serve
on the Eleventh Circuit.
Pryor has been serving temporarily as an Eleventh Circuit judge because
President Bush used a “recess” nomination to circumvent the
Senate’s “advice and consent” role and appoint Pryor
for a one-year period.
As Alabama Attorney General, Pryor filed briefs calling for eliminating
protections in the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act and other federal anti-discrimination laws.
Discussing his efforts to abandon court-ordered improvements in Alabama’s
child welfare system, Pryor stated publicly that “[i]t matters not
to me” whether his actions would leave children unprotected. He continued, “My
job is to make sure that the state of Alabama isn’t run by federal
courts. . . . My job isn’t to come here and help children.”
(1) U.S. Census Bureau. “Disability Status of the Civilian Noninstitutionalized
Population by Sex and Selected Characteristics for the United States and Puerto
Rico: 2000.” Available online at:
Fourth Circuit non-institutionalized people with disabilities, age 5 and above:
North Carolina (988,730); South Carolina (516,725); Virginia (758,350); West
Virginia (316,600); and Maryland (535,275)
(2) Ibid.
Eleventh Circuit non-institutionalized people with disabilities, age 5 and
above: Florida (2,067,645); Georgia (903,100); Alabama (644,260)
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Fair Use Policy
Please feel free to forward our alerts as long as you credit the Bazelon Center with a link to our website: http://www.bazelon.org
Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
1101 15th Street, NW, Suite
1212
Washington, DC 20005
