Letter to Colleagues of the U.S. Senate
[Following is the 'dear colleague' letter delivered last night (Thursday) to each member of the U.S. Senate by Sens. Leahy and Durbin on the dangers of injecting religion into the judicial nominations process. Below that are remarks of participants at this week's forum on this issue, featuring religious leaders from the Interfaith Alliance, an umbrella organization of 65 religious faiths. And below that is the proposed Senate rules change, introduced Thursday by Leahy and Durbin, to bar inquiries to nominees, at confirmation hearings, about their religious affiliations.]
July 31, 2003
Dear Colleague:
As we all know, a line was crossed recently when the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee asked a judicial nominee his religious affiliation - over the bipartisan objections of other Senators present - at an official confirmation hearing. This injection of religion into the judicial confirmation process - unprecedented, at least in modern timeswas then used to set the stage for religious attacks against Members of the Senate in paid ads produced by an outside advocacy group.
Senators differ on the merits of the nomination of William Pryor to be a judge on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, but we hope there can be universal agreement that the introduction of religion into such debates is not only wrong but also harmful to the Senate, to the independence of the federal judiciary, and to the people we represent.
The Interfaith Alliance this week on Capitol Hill convened a forum of religious leaders to offer their guidance to the Senate as we negotiate these contentious and dangerous shoals. The Interfaith Alliance is a nonpartisan umbrella organization representing 65 religious faiths. It is a clergy-led, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the positive, healing role of faith in civic life, and to challenging intolerance and extremism.
Attached is a compilation of the cogent and timely guidance offered by forum participants, who included representatives from a variety of faiths, from Catholic to Protestant to Jewish. We commend their observations and counsel on this important topic to the attention of each of our colleagues.
Sincerely,
PATRICK LEAHY
United States Senator
RICHARD DURBIN
United States Senator