A new low in senate confirmation denials -- and it was bipartisan

A new low was reached on Wednesday when seven Democrats joined every Republican to block the nomination of Debo Adegbile to head the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, a post that has been vacant since last year.  Adegbile is considered the top civil rights lawyer in the country -- this generation's Thurgood Marshall.  He has argued two cases before the Supreme Court.   There is no one more qualified to fill this important position.

Clearly, the opposition is based on his having been associated with getting the death sentence of a cop killer commuted to life in prison.   The case was tried some 30 years ago, but Adegbile's involvement began only in 2012 when he became head of the NAACP's Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The NAACP decision to represent the convicted man in his appeal to get the death sentence commuted was made before Adegbile took the job.   It was one of the cases he inherited.   To be clear, Adegbile did not attempt to get the conviction overturned, only to commute the death sentence.  And it was eventually successful.    The court agreed that the instructions to the jury were unconstitutional.   So it was right that his death sentence should not have stood.

Now, in effect, then the Senate has said that a lawyer providing legal representation for someone, who stirs too much enmity in the public, can be denied an important position in our government because of that.   This despite the accepted principle that anyone sentenced to death deserves the right to have that sentence reviewed on appeal -- and to have legal representation in that appeal.

This is but one more chipping away at our democracy, one of the tenets of which is that everyone is guaranteed a fair trial, which necessarily includes legal representation.    It is accepted in legal circles -- and in government circles -- that providing legal representation does not imply that you condone the actions of your client.   If it did, who would ever represent murderers and child abusers?   That would undermine democracy.

No, this is purely political.  And it raises the question of whether it is also racial?   It involves a black convict, an African-American organization, and a black nominee for the Civil Rights division.    Would there be same prejudice against defending a cop killer, if they were all white?

Shame on those senators who cast their votes our of cowardice -- out of fear that the right wing will punish them -- and the lack of trust in the voters to know the difference.   It didn't deter John Adams, one of the revered Founders Fathers, who defended British soldiers who had killed Americans.   It didn't derail the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts, who once did pro bono work to defend one of the worst mass murderers in Florida history.

Is race involved?   Roberts is a white Republican, nominated by a white Republican president.   Democratic Adegbile had a Nigerian father and he was nominated by a Democratic president who had a Kenyan father.   The nomination was for the top civil rights position in the Justice Department (more about this in a later post).

This is a dangerous precedent, and another step down, for one of the worst Congresses in the history of our country.  Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) said this marked the lowest point of his long tenure [30 years] in the senate.

Debo Adegbile -- along with Harry Reed, the Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, President Obama and his administration -- knew before the vote that the nomination would be defeated.   It was Adegbile's own decision to go forward, to force the debate and vote in the Senate.

Adegbile said:  "I'm 47 years old. ... I've spent all my life trying to do the right thing.  I didn't step into a courtroom for this man. I didn't write a word for the briefs for this man. ... I've done nothing wrong. I think if I'm going to be voted down, it's a good time to start a discussion on civil rights in America."

Reid praised Adegbile's courageous decision -- which stands in stark contrast to the cowards who voted against him, either out of prejudice or out of pure political fear.

Ralph