The U.S. Senate will vote later this week on whether to give a lifetime seat on the federal bench -- with substantial influence over environmental laws affecting 485 million acres of public land in Alaska and the American West -- to a man judged barely qualified for the position by the American Bar Association (ABA).
Despite opposition from members of the California State Legislature and more than 70 legal scholars and professors, President Bush is urging the Senate to confirm William Myers, his former chief attorney for the Department of Interior, to the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals. The ABA gave Myers its lowest possible rating, with only a "slim majority" finding him "qualified." More than a third rated him "unqualified" and no one rated him "well qualified."[1]
Myers' nomination has generated opposition from more than 160 environmental, Native American, civil rights, labor, disability rights, women's rights and other organizations, many of whom "have never before opposed a judicial nominee by any President," said Sugameli.
"There is no good reason why any Senator should support Myers" nomination and lots of reasons why Senators should exercise their advise and consent duty to just say no to Myers, who has the most anti-environmental and most anti-tribal record of any of President Bush's appeals court nominees," Glenn Sugameli, senior legislative counsel for Earthjustice told BushGreenwatch.
In a letter to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, members of the California Legislature said Myers appeared to be "a singularly poor choice" for the bench and urged her to "do all [she] can to ensure he is not confirmed."
"Mr. Myers is neither qualified to serve on the Ninth Circuit nor has he demonstrated the ability to be fair and impartial as an appellate judge," the letter states. "Throughout his career he has single-mindedly worked to advance the interests of grazing and mining industries at the expense of the environment and acted against the interests and rights of Native Americans and tribal governments. His record as Solicitor of the Department of the Interior indicates that if confirmed, he would be a threat to California's strong environmental laws."[2]
Opponents have criticized Myers for helping to weaken protections for endangered species and public lands, for helping to tilt Administration policies in favor of extractive industries and for loosening protections against overgrazing public lands. Myers is a former lobbyist for the National Mining Association and a former executive director of the Public Lands Council, a trade association that promotes the interests of ranchers who graze sheep and cattle on public lands.
He angered Native Americans when, as chief attorney for the U.S. Department of the Interior, he reversed his predecessor's opinion to clear the way for a cyanide heap-leach gold mine in California that could cause irreparable harm to an important spiritual site for the Quechan Indian Tribe. He has also been the subject of two ethics investigations while serving at Interior.
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Oppose Myers' nomination on Earthjustice's website.
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SOURCES:
[1] Sign-on Letter to Chairman Orrin Hatch, Committee on the Judiciary, US Senate, from Richard L. Abel, Connell Professor of Law, UCLA, et. al.
[2] Letter to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein from the California Legislature, Mar. 15, 2004.
