Judicial

Today, on Constitution Day, it is alarming that the fundamental right to a vote - the one that generations fought so hard to expand and protect, first with Amendment 15’s Race No Bar to Vote, Amendment 19’s Women’s Suffrage, and Amendment 26’s Voting Age – is now under attack by the Republican Party.  This is ironic given the Republican Party’s constitution-centric platform.

During the Democratic National Convention, Benita Veliz made history during her prime time appearance by being the first undocumented immigrant, or DREAMer, to speak before a national party convention. Her speech was short but graceful: an American story illustrating perseverance and well-deserved academic accomplishments. She praised President Obama’s executive action to lift the shadow of deportation from young undocumented immigrants. The atmosphere of inclusion in Charlotte contrasted sharply with the rhetoric in Tampa at the Republican National Convention. Whether that translates into a substantial bump with the Latino electorate, the polls will soon tell. What is clear, however, is that the DREAM Act and Dreamers, like Benita, are heavily influencing policy positions and party platforms.

Last month, U.S. Circuit Judge Emilio Garza took senior status after 20 years of dedicated service. His action means that the judiciary has 78 openings in the 856 appellate and district judgeships, while the Fifth Circuit has two in seventeen and the Texas District Courts have four in forty-one. These vacancies, which constitute almost ten percent of the judgeships systemwide, twelve percent in the Fifth Circuit and ten percent for the Texas Districts undercut the delivery of justice. Accordingly, President Barack Obama must promptly nominate, and the Senate expeditiously approve, circuit and district judges, so that the empty seats will be filled nationwide as well as in the Fifth Circuit and Texas Districts.

Last week, The Republican Party declared it wanted to deny millions of families the opportunity to achieve the American dream – including my own.
 
There are 1 million parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) raising 2 million children in the United States. We are part of the diverse fabric of our nation which increasingly includes blended and multi-generational families, adoptive and foster families, families headed by single parents, divorced parents and unmarried couples, and our families shouldn't be cheated out of  access to opportunities simply based on who they are.

Late last year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney proclaimed, “I favor gay rights.” Apparently Gov. Romney thinks he can simultaneously say he favors gay rights while also opposing any form of relationship recognition for same-sex couples and supporting an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that bans marriage equality. He also opposes a federal law that would finally make it illegal in all 50 states to discriminate against gay and transgender workers.
 
With respect to marriage equality, civil unions, and workplace fairness, it is safe to say that Mitt Romney does not actually “favor gay rights.”

The rest of the country followed Delaware’s lead in ratifying the Constitution. Congress, too, should take its cue from Delaware for its leadership in passing legislation addressing anonymous spending in elections.

On August 15, the first of perhaps a million or more people who qualify for the DREAM Act will begin stepping forward to apply and pay fees for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a form of temporary deportation relief for undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria. Each case will be evaluated individually, but I am encouraging those who meet the basic criteria to consider applying for DACA or at least get all the information they can about whether it is the right thing for them. Thousands will join me and Senator Dick Durbin, the author of the DREAM Act, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago at the Navy Pier for a workshop on the new program conducted by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and numerous local groups.

In June, the Senate GOP leadership proclaimed that it would invoke the “Thurmond Rule” and oppose appointment of each appeals court nominee recommended by President Barack Obama until after the November election. This decision threatens the confirmation of William Kayatta, the excellent, noncontroversial nominee whom Obama selected after First Circuit Judge Kermit Lipez took senior status in late 2011. Because Mr. Kayatta is a strong consensus nominee, he does not satisfy the Thurmond Rule and GOP senators must expeditiously allow a floor vote. Should the Republican leaders refuse to vote, Maine GOP Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins must join other senators in favoring cloture, so that Kayatta secures a merits vote.

Conservative activists in California are promoting a deceptive ballot proposition that would increase the ability of business groups and billionaires to dominate state elections. The measure, Proposition 32, claims to be an even-handed effort at campaign finance reform – but nothing could be further from the truth. Prop. 32 (or “Stop Special Interest Money Now,” as its big money supporters prefer to call it) would cripple the ability of unions to participate in politics, but have little or no impact on unlimited spending by corporate executives and other wealthy individuals.

Many questions have been rightly raised about what the LIBOR scandal will mean for the United States economy. It may take months to arrive at an answer but regulators must fully examine the LIBOR manipulation controversy in order to prevent it from happening again.