Confirmation of Griffith Another Blow to Civil Rights

Washington – Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition issued the following statement in response to the confirmation of Thomas Griffith to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia:

“Another blow against civil rights was struck today by the Senate’s confirmation of Thomas Griffith to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Griffith’s troubling views on educational equity, particularly with regard to Title IX, portends a Griffith tenure on the federal bench marked by continued open disdain for federal civil rights laws.

We are troubled by his blatant disregard of the rule of law. In addition to practicing law in Utah without being licensed in that state, he practiced with a suspended license in our nation’s capital. One would think that this moral and ethical failing would be enough to keep him from a lifetime appointment to the second most important court in the nation, but in this new era of partisan posturing, it seems that even the most egregious nominees can be assured of confirmation.”