More Pickering Fallout
William Moody, an African-American drug defendant, was arrested in 2000, seven years after his indictment. Authorities could not find him because he was living in New York, holding a steady job and supporting his family. Upon learning about Moody's apparent turnaround, [District Judge] Pickering delayed his sentencing a year, allowing his continued good behavior to be used as a basis for punishment with no prison time. —Bill Rankin, staff writer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 9, 2003.
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Pickering, "in a 1999 essay on race relations in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, addressed racial bias in the courts, empathizing with black, not white, concerns. He counseled whites who were angry about the recent acquittal of a black murder suspect to look at the justice system from a black perspective.
"While Mississippians may not realize that African-Americans are treated differently by the system," Pickering wrote, "it is the truth and a most disturbing one if you are black."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution added that "as a judge, Pickering has thrown out only two jury verdicts, both times because he felt the verdicts were biased against minority plaintiffs."
Charles Schumer, Richard Durbin, Russ Feingold, Pat Leahy, and the rest of the Democratic posse on the Senate Judiciary Committee didn't mention those parts of Pickering's record during the two Senate hearings on his nomination.
Matt's Chat
Get the rest of this blistering commentary chock full of information that didn't get presented by the Senate Judiciary Committee.The travesty of what the Democrats are doing with judicial nominations must be answered for... Pickering sounds like an ideal candidate for liberals...fair and compassionate while sensitive to minorities and dedicated to the letter and spirit of the law.
