Two of President Bush's pending nominees for lifetime federal judgeships have records troubling enough for Earthjustice and other national organizations to express serious concerns to the Senate, which, under the Constitution, must "advise and consent" on judicial nominations. You can make a difference by sending an email urging your Senators and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to review the nominees carefully before determining whether or not to confirm them.

Federal trial Judge D. Brooks Smith has been nominated to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the court that nearly always serves as a "regional Supreme Court" with final say on federal environmental and other issues for PA, NJ, and DE. On May 23, 2002, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-7 in favor of his nomination. The full Senate will now decide whether or not to approve the nomination.

Judge Smith has endorsed in the past a view of federal authority so limited as to threaten enforcement of national environmental and other laws. His apparent ethical violations as a federal trial judge included long-standing membership in a discriminatory club and failure to recuse (remove) himself initially from cases in which he and his wife had substantial financial interests. Judge Smith's rulings on access to the courts, illegal toxic dumping, and "takings" of private property unjustifiably threaten environmental and other safeguards. His extreme decisions twisting the law to favor large corporations over individuals have been repeatedly reversed by higher courts, usually by conservative judges appointed by Republican presidents. If he were named to the appellate court, there would be little opportunity to rectify his egregious rulings. Nearly all appeals court decisions stand as final. Please ask Senators to look closely at all of these issues before deciding whether to grant Judge Smith a lifetime appellate court judgeship. More information can be found at: http://www.earthjustice.org/policy/judicial/brooks.html

A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and vote may occur soon on the nomination of Lawrence Block to the to the Court of Federal Claims, which decides "takings" claims--whether companies and developers must be paid to comply with federal environmental and other laws. As Committee counsel to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Block spearheaded efforts to enact extreme bills to redefine "takings" of property in a manner that would threaten a wide range of safety, health, and environmental protections. This amounts to an endorsement of government pay-offs for obeying the law--paying polluters not to pollute. Mr. Block has never recognized that the tests for obtaining federal payments in these bills contradict unanimous Supreme Court rulings. Please urge Senators to view this as an extremely controversial nomination that needs to be fully and carefully considered. Read more information at: http://www.earthjustice.org/policy/judicial/block.html