Statement of Leadership Conference on Civil Rights on the Withdrawal of the Nomination of Miguel Estrada

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition, issued the following statement today on the withdrawal of the nomination of Miguel Estrada:

“The withdrawal of Miguel Estrada’s nomination is good news for Americans who want a balanced and fair judicial system and who believe that nominees to lifetime appointments should answer reasonable questions by senators. The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is one of our nation’s most important federal courts. For that reason, Miguel Estrada’s nomination raised grave concerns for LCCR. We continue to believe that Miguel Estrada is ill-suited to serve on the Court of Appeals, and his departure provides President Bush with the opportunity to send a highly-qualified, moderate nominee to the Senate for consideration. We hope any nominee sent to the Senate will be willing and able to answer questions asked by senators who have a constitutionally-mandated advice and consent role in the selection of federal judges,” said LCCR Executive Director Wade Henderson.

“We believe President Bush’s next nominee to the D.C. Circuit should add greater balance to that court and contribute to its diversity, but diversity at the expense of the Latino community’s substantive concerns will not be acceptable,” said Antonia Hernandez, Vice-Chairperson of the LCCR Executive Committee.


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