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February 4, 2003
RE: Nomination of Miguel Estrada
Dear Senator:
We respectfully urge that based upon the current record,
the Senate, in the exercise of its constitutional advise and
consent responsibility, should not confirm Miguel Estrada
to a lifetime position on the United States Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The D.C. Circuit is justifiably viewed as the most crucial
court for environmental protection after the Supreme Court.
Its exclusive jurisdiction to hear challenges under many laws
results in rulings on whether to uphold or strike down many
critical national environmental safeguards that are seldom
reviewed by the Supreme Court.
The attached September 23, 2002 letter to the Judiciary Committee
from national environmental groups sets forth the standard
that we believe the Senate should apply to the consideration
of Mr. Estrada. In particular, the letter urges that Senators
not vote to confirm D.C. Circuit nominees unless Senators
"ensure that each nominee affirmatively establish his
or her qualifications…. No President has a mandate to
appoint to the federal courts judges who are or may be hostile
to laws protecting the environment and the public's health
and welfare. The mere absence of disqualifying evidence in
a nominee's record should not constitute sufficient grounds
for confirmation."
Based upon the current record, we believe that Mr. Estrada
has not met this standard, in light of his limited public
record on many of the key issues before the D.C. Circuit,
the lack or unavailability of writings that would reveal his
qualifications, and his testimony at his hearing before the
Senate Committee on the Judiciary, including his sweeping
and repeated refusals to provide his views about any cases
that the Supreme Court has decided in the past. The Senate
should exercise its constitutional responsibility to confirm
lifetime federal judicial nominees only if there is an adequate
record to ensure that they will fairly decide critical issues
regarding protection of clean air, clean water, endangered
species, and special places.
Thank you for consideration of our views on this lifetime
nomination to a critically important court.
Sincerely yours,
Doug Kendall
Executive Director
Community Rights Counsel
William Snape
Vice President for Law
Defenders of Wildlife
Vawter "Buck" Parker
Executive Director
Earthjustice
Beth Lowell
Policy Analyst
Endangered Species Coalition
Richard wiles
Senior Vice President
Environmental Working Group
Brent Blackwelder
President
Friends of the Earth
Andrea Durbin
National Campaigns Director
Greenpeace
Philip E. Clapp
President
National Environmental Trust
Gregory Wetstone
Director of Advocacy
Natural Resources Defense Council
Dawn M. Martin
Chief Operating Officer
Oceana
Robert K. Musil, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Executive Director and CEO
Physicians for Asocial Responsibility
Pat Gallagher
Director, Sierra Club Environmental Law Program
Sierra Club
Gail Hoskisson
Washington Representative
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
William H. Meadows
President
The Wilderness Society
Attachment
CRC Note: The letter sent to Senator Schumer that is mentioned
in the above letter can be read here.
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