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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (14765)	11/1/2003 6:44:21 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793888

This story starts like the Congressional committee is out of line, but when you get into it, the Judge is the one out of line. I remember this case when it came up. ______________________________________________ Republicans Investigate Judge in Michigan Case Wrongdoing in School Quota Case Alleged By Charles Lane Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, November 1, 2003; Page A05 Congressional Republicans have launched a renewed investigation of alleged wrongdoing by a Democratic-appointed federal judge in a landmark affirmative action case -- sparking countercharges that the GOP is using political pressure tactics against the judiciary. Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, based in Cincinnati, said staff members from the House Judiciary Committee have visited judges and court officials in recent days -- in two cases appearing unannounced at judges' chambers. The staff members demanded documents and asked to question two Democratic-appointed judges, but the judges refused. The investigators said they were looking into charges -- first aired last year by a Republican-appointed judge on the 6th Circuit -- that the circuit's Democratic-appointed chief judge, Boyce F. Martin Jr., had rigged the lineup of judges who ruled on the University of Michigan Law School's affirmative action policy so the school would win. In June, the Supreme Court affirmed the 6th Circuit ruling, establishing the constitutionality of race-conscious university admissions generally. Many conservatives, though, are still unhappy not only with that outcome but also with what they consider improper maneuvering by the lower court that made the Supreme Court case possible. "They're mad at our court because they lost, and they won't let up. It's unbelievable," said Damon J. Keith, a senior judge who was appointed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Keith said he finds the investigation doubly questionable because a related but separate Michigan affirmative action case was remanded by the Supreme Court to a district court in the 6th Circuit and might come before the appeals judges. Court sources said the investigators were seeking internal and, in some cases, confidential records of the court. House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) declined to comment. Committee staff members, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described the visits by investigators to the 6th Circuit, which took place on several days during the week of Oct. 20, as an exercise of the House's oversight authority regarding the federal courts. The committee has the power to initiate impeachment proceedings against federal judges; it also has a more general role in policing judicial ethics. But the staff members declined to say what information the committee sought from the 6th Circuit. "We're not trying to reargue the case," said one senior staff member. "We're concerned about the integrity of the process." The charges against Martin, who was chief judge of the 6th Circuit while the Michigan Law School case was before the court, were first made in May 2002 in a published dissenting opinion by Judge Danny J. Boggs, an appointee of Republican President Ronald Reagan. Boggs, who voted against the school's policy in the case, wrote a detailed description of what he said were Martin's violations of internal procedures that delayed consideration of the case until two Republican-appointed opponents of affirmative action were no longer eligible to rule on it. Martin has vigorously denied the charges, but another Republican appointee on the 6th Circuit, Alice M. Batchelder, issued a finding in May 2003 that said, "The undisputed facts . . . raise an inference misconduct has occurred." Martin appealed to the 6th Circuit Judicial Council, a body made up of district and appeals judges. The council declined to rule on the merits of the issue, saying that it should be dropped because Martin's term as chief judge was to end Sept. 30. He was replaced by Boggs. Boggs declined to comment. Sensenbrenner notified Martin that he was looking into the matter in June 2002, shortly after the publication of Boggs's opinion. Martin met with committee staff members and supplied them with public documents on the court's procedures, after which the matter apparently went dormant. It was rekindled, however, by Batchelder's May 2003 report. At that point, Sensenbrenner wrote to Martin again, notifying him that an "additional inquiry" would take place "to ensure that the public has continued confidence in a fair and impartial judiciary." "I'm confident that I've done nothing that was contrary to what the statute required me to do as chief judge," Martin said in an interview. washingtonpost.com