Judicial Appointments Talking Points:
Sen. Leahy's Double-Standard on Judicial Qualifications     1/30/2003
By Thomas L., Jipping, J.D.

Two men with nearly identical records, and yet, 531 days separates them. ...

On January 30, 2003, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-9 to approve the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. On January 24, 2003, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) questioned Mr. Estrada's qualifications, saying he "has no judicial experience. He has no publications since his law school note. He is not a distinguished legal scholar or professor of law."

In 1997, Sen. Leahy praised Merrick Garland, another D.C. Circuit nominee with no judicial or professorial experience and no publications, as "highly qualified for this appointment" and someone who would make "an outstanding Federal judge." (Congressional Record, 3/19/97, at S2518).

Mr. Estrada's and Mr. Garland's credentials are exactly the same.

Credentials	Miguel Estrada	Merrick Garland
Age at nomination	41	44
Phi Beta Kappa	Yes	Yes
Harvard Law School, magna cum laude	Yes	Yes
Editor, Harvard Law Review	Yes	Yes
Law Clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit	Yes	Yes
Law Clerk, U.S. Supreme Court	Yes	Yes
Private practice	7 years	7 years
Assistant U.S. Attorney	2 years	3 years
U.S. Department of Justice	1992-1997	1993-1997
Bipartisan support	Yes	Yes
Race	Hispanic	White
Days from nomination to Judiciary Committee approval	631	100

Seven current Judiciary Committee Democrats served in the Senate in 1997. Every one voted for Mr. Garland and against Mr. Estrada. Every observation by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) about Mr. Garland (Congressional Record, 3/19/97, at S2518) applies to Mr. Estrada:

No one can question [his] qualifications and fitness to serve on the D.C. Circuit. He is a respected lawyer, a former Supreme Court law clerk, a partner at a prestigious law firm, and … has served with distinction in the Department of Justice under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Support for him is bipartisan.

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