Stand Up Against Judicial Discrimination

Leslie Southwick of Mississippi has been nominated for the Federal 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals - and we need to send a strong message of opposition. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Southwick's nomination several weeks ago, and due to several controversial decisions, have postponed a vote until tomorrow. Rhode Island's own Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is on the Judiciary Committee - and while he was outspoken in the hearing on Southwick's horrible record on LGBTQ issues, he has not said he will conclusively vote against him. Let Senator Whitehouse know that you oppose the nomination of Judge Leslie Southwick, and want to be assured of his vote.

Senator Whitehouse is quite vocal on GLBT issues and a strong supporter of us as well. But, his first real test on the Senate Judiciary will be tomorrow's vote. Judge Leslie Southwick is an awful choice, especially for LGBT and African American communities. What's so bad about Southwick? He overturned a decision by a state commission to fire an employee for using the "N" word while referring to another employee - and said he believed it was an inconsequential reason for dismissing someone. He removed an 8-year-old girl from her mother's home, awarding full custody to her father, because her mother was living in a "lesbian home" with a female partner, and was therefore unfit to parent. Think about how much damage he could do in a lifetime appointment to the Federal bench!

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Stand Against Southwick

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As your constituent, I am committed to principles of fairness and equality; as such, I am upset to hear that you have not come out strongly against the nomination of Judge Leslie Southwick for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. A judge who relies on bigotry and bias to guide his decisions has no place on the Federal bench.

Judge Southwick joined an opinion saying that homosexuality is a "choice" -- and that one of the consequences of that "choice" is that the state can take away your child.

Judge Southwick seems to think that there is nothing wrong with using the "N-word" to refer to a colleague in the workplace.

Even worse, Judge Southwick was unable to name even one case where he made an unpopular decision in favor of the powerless, the poor, minorities or the dispossessed - just those folks who need our Judiciary to speak for them. I ask you oppose Southwick's nomination, and send a strong message that that bigoted, backwards-thinking judges will NOT be given lifetime appointments to our nation's second-highest courts.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
June 06, 2007

Background Information

Leslie Southwick's nomination to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is opposed by the Congressional Black Caucus, the Alliance for Justice, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force - and for good reason. A judge with with a history of discrimination against minorities has no place in our Federal Judiciary. Senator Whitehouse should stand up for fairness by committing to vote against Southwick in tomorrow's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Consider the following:

In one infamous case, Southwick upheld the reinstatement -- with back pay -- of a white worker after she had been fired for using the single most offensive racial epithet, calling a black colleague a 'good ole n****r.'
In another case, he agreed that an eight-year-old girl could be taken away from her birth mother, in large part because the mother was living with another woman in a 'lesbian home.' He also joined in the opinion that sexual orientation is a 'choice,' and that one legally acceptable consequence of that 'choice' is losing one's child.
In a third case, he argued that a worker made sick by on-the-job exposure to toxic chemicals could not sue her employer because the three-year statute of limitations had run out...even though the worker had not learned that her illness was job-related until ten years after the onset of her symptoms.
When pressed by Senator Durbin during recent hearings to name just one example of an unpopular decision he made in favor of the powerless, the poor, minorities or the dispossessed, Judge Southwick responded, "no."