Citizen Journal

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Under the Constitution of the United States of America, the President has the responsibility to nominate men and women to federal courts who are qualified to serve and who will faithfully interpret the Constitution.

When vacancies appear in our federal judicial system, the role of the United States Senate in the appointment process is clear.

Members of the United States Senate have a Constitutional obligation to give an up-or-down vote, either confirming or rejecting the judicial nominations of the President. Please tell your Senator that you believe that every qualified judicial nominee deserves a fair and final vote.

As a citizen and a voter in the State of New York, I am asking you, Senators Schumer and Clinton, to fulfill your Constitutional obligations and give all of President Bush's judicial nominees a final up-or-down vote by the United States Senate and any effort to prevent such a final vote will be viewed as a failure to fulfill the duties for which you were elected.