A Price Too High by Judge Charles Pickering

TEA Party II - Spirit of 1776 in Laurel, Miss

2009-07-01T18:38:00.000-06:00

Charles Pickering spoke at the TEA Party II - Spirit of 1776 event at the Jones County Courthouse in Laurel, Mississippi yesterday. Here are some excerpts from the Laurel Leader Call:

Sponsored by We Surround Them - Jones County, T.E.A. Party II attracted a large number of citizens from Laurel and the surrounding area fed up with the current state of the nation. T.E.A. stands for Taxed Enough Already, a core of the 9-12 Project and its Laurel-based affiliate.

That message was further elaborated on by guest speaker Charles W. Pickering Sr., a former federal judge for the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Pickering said the U.S. has shown the “Spirit of 1776” in several areas, such as coming to the aid of other countries and breaking race and gender barriers. However, in other areas the country “has strayed from our moorings and heritage,” he said.

“Judges are now making laws, deciding democracy is too slow and people are not significantly enlightened,” Pickering said. “The Congress and the President are also passing an enormous tax burden on to our unborn children and grandchildren. That is taxation without representation.”

Pickering noted that spending is out of control with the national debt likely to double within 10 years at the current rate. That equates to a further devalued dollar and increased difficulty for young couples purchasing homes, automobiles, etc.

Pickering said the culture war has further polarized America on issues such as abortion, God in the public arena, pornography and marriage. But, he added that there is still hope.

“We can’t solve problems by playing the blame game, using stronger language or a louder voice,” he said. “We must use logic and reason of ideas. We must have politicians who set aside personal interests and partisan gains. It’s not a race and not easy or quick. We have to be in for the long haul if we want to make a difference.”

Pickering concluded by referencing a famous quote from a speech Winston Churchill delivered to a group of students in 1941. “When it comes to reinstilling the ‘Spirit of 1776,’ never, never, never give up.”

Other supporters praised Pickering, who knows firsthand about dealing with partisan politics. “I appreciate Judge Pickering so much not only for what he’s done in Mississippi but for our country,” said James Nichols, a member of We Surround Them - Jones County.

The 9-12 Project is a non-partisan political group that advocates “a return to principles and values in our government and which encourages citizen involvement to let Congressmen know the individual preferences of the voters.” The group has espoused nine principles and 12 values to spread its message.

Pickering to Speak to Laurel Tea Party 6/30

2009-06-26T16:07:00.003-06:00

Judge Charles Pickering will be the keynote speaker at "Tea Party II: Spirit of 1176" on June 30 at 6pm at the Jones County Courthouse in Laurel, Mississippi. The Hattiesburg American reports:

The event is sponsored by the 912 Project of Jones County, a non-partisan political group that advocates a return to principles and values in government. It is open to the public.

Pickering has served as Laurel city prosecutor, a state senator, president of the Mississippi Southern Baptist Convention and a federal judge.

He authored "Supreme Chaos: The Politics of Judicial Confirmation & the Culture War" and "A Price Too High: The Judiciary in Jeopardy."

For more information on the event: 912 Project Hattiesburg

Jacoby on Race in Judicial Confirmations

2009-06-15T12:57:00.003-06:00

In today's Boston Globe, Jeff Jacoby points out the dangers in accusing someone of racial insensitivity pertaining to the Sotomayor nomination, and uses Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge Charles Pickering as examples.

The same malice would be visited subsequently on other conservative judges nominated by Republican presidents. In 1991, Clarence Thomas was slimed as a traitor to his race for having married a white woman, and as a mouthpiece for white supremacists. "If you gave Clarence Thomas a little flour on his face," declared Carl Rowan, "you'd think you had David Duke talking." Judge Charles Pickering, a longtime advocate of racial reconciliation, was defamed by Senator John Kerry in 2002 as a "forceful advocate for a cross-burner" and by Senator Charles Schumer for his "glaring racial insensitivity."

Pickering on Radio

2009-06-04T14:59:00.002-06:00

Judge Charles Pickering will be appear on "On Deadline with Sid Salter" today on Supertalk Mississippi to discuss the Sotomayor nomination. Salter's show is 4-6pm central and you can listen at www.supertalk.fm online.

Alito, Estrada, Pickering & Sotomayor

2009-06-04T14:50:00.004-06:00

This week I wrote about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination and hope Republicans use it as an opportunity to make two contrasts: 1) of judicial philosophies 2) of confirmation processes. Regardless of whether the Republicans will vote against her and whether they could stop her confirmation, they should exaimine her and vote accordingly, but do so in a manner that shows dignity and civility, unlike how Democrats treated Judge Charles Pickering. The spiral of disrespect must stop somewhere, Republicans should have it stop with them. Here is an excerpt from the column:

If Sotomayor believes a justice should drop the scales and pick up the legislative pen and make policy, then Republicans and Democrats alike should oppose her encroachment across the separation of powers and her disregard for the rule of law.

I doubt any Democrats will do so, and I hope Republicans will do so properly.

I would be embarrassed if during her questioning, Republicans dragged Sotomayor through the dirt and treated her like Democrats treated Samuel Alito, whom President George W. Bush nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Following Senator Ted Kennedy's (D-Mass) interrogation and accusations against him, Alito's wife had to leave the room in tears.

I would be agitated if Republicans mounted a process fight, attempting to bottle her in committee or filibuster her on the Senate floor like the Democrats did to Miguel Estrada, whom Bush nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The Constitution gives the President the power by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate to appoint federal judges. As a nominee, she should have a hearing and she should have a vote. If Republicans want time to debate, they should exercise those prerogatives, but not abuse them to obstruct her nomination.

I would be frustrated if Republican Senators accused her of racism, like Democratic Senators did to Charles Pickering, whom Bush appointed to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Some Democrats were "kinder" just saying that Pickering was "racially insensitive." Certainly had Pickering said a white man could usually make a better decision than a Latina woman, he would have been castigated by vitriolic Democrats. I hope Republicans show more class.

Republicans should treat Sotomayor with dignity in the committee, give her an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor, and refrain from character assassinations. If they do conclude she will not rule according to the word and intent of the Constitution, they should vote against her.

Republicans may not be able to prevent Sotomayor's confirmation, but they can demonstrate in the process a more respectful and responsible way of conducting the Senate than their Democratic colleagues.

Charen on Sotomayor and Pickering

2009-06-02T17:32:00.002-06:00

Mona Charen looks at the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor and reminds us of the nomination of Charles Pickering: "It's Not Fair Casually to Call People Racist".

The nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has already achieved a boon for our political culture: It has helped leading liberals and Democrats to discover that being tarred as a racist on flimsy grounds is unfair and deeply unpleasant. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D., Calif.) for example, when asked on Face the Nation to respond to Rush Limbaugh’s and Newt Gingrich’s comments about Sotomayor, said, “That’s an absolutely terrible thing to throw around. Based on that statement — that one word ‘better than’ [sic] — to call someone a racist is just terrible and I would hope that Republicans would not do this.”

Senator Feinstein was right as far she went. She avoided one undeniable fact, though. If a white-male nominee had been discovered to have said something similar — that he was better situated to judge due to his background and life experiences than a Latina woman was — he would be cashiered so fast as to induce whiplash. Those are the unwritten rules that Limbaugh and Gingrich are attempting, one suspects, to expose for their one-sidedness. Nevertheless, the instant labeling of the woman, based on one unwise remark, is hardly fair. If Democrats are learning this now, that’s excellent news. One hopes they will remember this discovery when the wheel turns and a Republican nominee is before the Senate. Certainly they didn’t seem to get it as recently as 2002, when President Bush nominated Judge Charles Pickering to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Then-majority leader Tom Daschle (D., S.D.) said Judge Pickering had displayed an “insensitivity to civil rights, to equal rights, especially to minorities. . . . This [nomination] lays bare the administration’s real position on civil rights.” Leading liberal newspapers tolled the bell with headlines like “Extremist Judge Unfit to Sit on Appeals Court” in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution and “Say No to This Throwback” in the Los Angeles Times.

The Democrats succeeded in torpedoing Pickering’s nomination — not to mention assassinating his character. More than “insensitive,” he was called a crypto-racist with a “segregationist past” (Paul Krugman). When President Bush offered Judge Pickering a recess appointment to avoid a Senate filibuster, Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) breathed fire: “Here we are, on the weekend before a national holiday when we celebrate Martin Luther King’s birthday, and George W. Bush celebrates it by appointing Charles Pickering, a known forceful advocate for a cross-burner in America, to the federal court of the United States.”

In point of fact, Judge Pickering had been a friend to civil rights throughout his career. To its credit, the New York Times actually quoted longtime associates of the judge and members of the black community in Pickering’s hometown who “overwhelmingly support his nomination . . . and admire his efforts at racial reconciliation.” The black chairman of the city council told the Times, “I can’t believe the man they’re describing in Washington is the same one I’ve known for years.” They recalled that as a young prosecutor in 1967, Pickering had endangered his career (and perhaps more) by testifying in court against the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. He was known for hiring black staffers at a time when few white Mississippians did. Pickering encouraged the chancellor of University of Mississippi to form the Institute for Racial Reconciliation and served on its board for many years. Pickering, unlike some white southerners (and many Democrats currently serving in Congress) chose to send his children to integrated public schools.

Pickering did preside over the trial of three young men who burned a cross on the lawn of an interracial couple. Byron York’s excellent account in National Review reveals that Pickering was dismayed by the Justice Department’s decision to negotiate plea bargains with two of the defendants (including the one Pickering regarded as the ringleader) and recommend no jail time for them, while asking for seven and a half years for the remaining defendant. One of those permitted to plea to a misdemeanor by Justice was clearly a racist who had earlier shot a gun into a black man’s home, gotten into fights with black students at school, and convinced his drunk comrades to burn the cross. Pickering did not think it was just to let him off and sentence the other defendant, for whom this was a first offense, to more than seven years. He sentenced him to 27 months, admonishing the defendant that “the type of conduct you exhibited cannot and will not be tolerated. . . . I would suggest to you that during the time you’re in prison that you do some reading on race relations and maintaining good race relations and how that can be done.”

Yet, without blushing, John Kerry transmogrified Judge Pickering into “a forceful advocate for a cross burner.”

Judge Sonia Sotomayor deserves careful vetting by the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She may or may not deserve their vote. But those Republicans should seize this teachable moment to remember all of the fine candidates — Pickering, Miguel Estrada, Robert Bork — and many more who were so shamefully treated by the Democrats who have suddenly discovered the evil of baseless accusations.

Happy Birthday Judge Pickering

2009-05-29T08:30:00.000-06:00

Happy 72nd Birthday to Judge Charles Pickering today.

Pickering Hosts Scalia at William Carey

2009-04-06T20:42:00.002-06:00

The Hattiesburg American discusses the visit of Supreme Court Antonin Scalia to William Carey University in Mississippi.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia warned against judicial activism this morning at William Carey University, saying the tendency of judges to liberally interpret the constitution on grounds other than original intent overrides the will of the people.

“There are four justices who have sat beside me who believe that the death penalty is now unconstitutional … and they believe it to be unconstitutional, because they think it ought to be,” he said.

The logical conclusion of such a stance is to take the death penalty “off the democratic stage,” he said.

Retired 5th Circuit Court Judge Charles Pickering gave the introduction, praising Scalia’s commitment to democratic principles.

“He is the most vocal advocate of the proposition that if the meaning of the Constitution is to be changed, it must be changed by the people and not by nine jurists in Washington.”

Pickering at Mississippi Federalist Society Luncheon

2009-03-03T18:01:00.003-06:00

Charles Pickering, Sr. will join other panelists this Thursday at The Federalist Society of Mississippi's luncheon to discuss "The U.S. Senate Minority's Role in Judicial Confirmations." Details are below.

The Federalist Society of Mississippi
Presents a Luncheon Panel Discussion Entitled
The U.S. Senate Minority’s Role in Judicial Confirmations

Panelists

Ed Haden
Partner & Chair, Appellate Practice Group, Balch & Bingham, Birmingham, AL; former Nominations & Constitutional Law Counsel for then Chairman Orrin Hatch, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee; former law clerk to Judge Grady Jolly, 5th Cir. Ct. Appeals

Jamie Franks
Partner, Wheeler & Franks, Tupelo, MS; Chairman, MS Democratic Party; former State Representative, MS Legislature

Charles Pickering
Senior Counsel, Baker Donelson; former Judge, 5th Cir. Ct. Appeals & U.S. District Court; former Chairman, MS GOP; former State Senator, MS Legislature; author, Supreme Chaos: The Politics of Judicial Confirmation & the Culture War

Luther Munford
Partner & Appellate Lawyer, Phelps Dunbar; former law clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court

Thursday, March 5, 2009
12:00 P.M. – 1:15 P.M.
The University Club
210 East Capitol Street, 22nd Floor
Jackson, Mississippi
$20.00 per lunch

To RSVP, contact Gina Barnes at 601-965-8137.

Joe Biden's role in Pickering's confirmation

2008-08-27T16:30:00.002-06:00

Now that Senator Joe Biden (D-Del) has been selected to run for Vice-President on the Democratic ticket, it is a good time to revisit his role in the confirmation battles over Judge Charles Pickering. My column this week in the Neshoba Democrat discusses Biden's role as recounted in Pickering's two books. Here are some excerpts of the column:

Pickering needed a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote to send his nomination (with a positive, neutral, or even negative recommendation) to the full Senate. Later, Pickering needed Democrats to stand against unprecedented filibusters, even if they ultimately voted against him. Both times, Biden made overtures he would help Pickering; both times, Biden folded under political pressure.

A number of Mississippians were close to Biden, his staff, and his brother Jim. Former Governor William Winter and other supporters planned a trip to visit Biden in Washington DC to discuss the Pickering nomination. Biden sent word the trip was unnecessary. Pickering thought this a positive development, until the next shoe dropped: the Democratic offer of an unacceptable deal.

Judge Pickering's son, Congressman Chip Pickering, was in a redistricting fight which combined his district with that of Congressman Ronnie Shows. How the district was drawn would determine advantage in the election between the incumbents. Word came that Biden's vote could come more easily, if Chip would not oppose the Democrats' redistricting plan, and would guarantee Pickering's replacement on the federal district bench would be black.

Judge Pickering scoffed at the deal, "We quit child sacrifice a long time ago." He wrote, "There was no consideration of Chip caving on redistricting. There was no opposition to an African American as my replacement. I believe the Mississippi federal bench needs more diversity....There was a willingness for this to happen, but unwillingness to do a 'quid pro quo'."

Even without the deal, it seemed Biden might still be the necessary cross-over Democrat to get Pickering to the full Senate.

Biden claimed the White House was pressuring him and responded by opposing Pickering.

In his book, Pickering suggests other motives, "First, he wanted to preserve his option to run for president... he didn't want to be the only potential Democrat candidate for president to alienate the Far Left groups by helping get me to the floor. Second, he and his trial lawyer friends from Mississippi had a falling out, removing their influence in his decision-making."

Publically and privately, Biden did not believe Pickering a bad nomination. He rejected racial criticisms of Pickering as well as denying accusations of inequitable sentencing. In private, he told supporters he thought Pickering a good judge who deserved a vote. Biden even approached Senator Trent Lott and told him while he could not vote to confirm Pickering, he would vote to end a filibuster. Biden later confirmed this with the press.

When Republicans regained control of the Senate, Bush re-nominated Pickering, and his nomination went to the full Senate. Biden crawfished again. He claimed he couldn't support Pickering because the White House should not have re-nominated him after the committee failed to act the first time. How Biden expected to keep his commitment to Lott to oppose a filibuster of Pickering, without Pickering being re-nominated, is a question only a lawyer could love.

Biden bent to political pressure rather than doing what he thought was right. He chose party over principle. In the grand scheme, Pickering's nomination was a minor battle. But in the character of Joe Biden, we see a failure to exhibit the courage necessary to honor a commitment to do the right thing.

Read the full column here: Biden's role in Pickering ordeal

Judge Pickering to Deliver MC Commencement

2008-08-01T15:33:00.002-06:00

Charles Pickering will deliver the summer commencement address at Mississippi College.

A former federal judge, author and longtime Republican Party leader, Jackson attorney Charles W. Pickering, Sr. will deliver the summer commencement address at Mississippi College. The August 2 graduation is scheduled at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Clinton campus. The event begins at 10 a.m.

It's quite an honor for Pickering to speak to MC's August graduates, said Ron Howard, vice president for academic affairs. "Charles Pickering is a dedicated Christian and distinguished jurist," he said. "His record of service, not only to his state and nation, but also to his church, is peerless."

MC supporters, Howard said, "are especially proud of Judge Pickering for his many efforts to advance racial reconciliation in Mississippi."

(Read the full MC press release here.)

Mississippi College Commencement Speaker

2008-07-02T06:45:00.004-06:00

Judge Charles Pickering will be the commencement speaker for Mississippi College at the August 2 graduation at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Clinton campus.

It's quite an honor for Pickering to speak to MC's August graduates, said Ron Howard, vice president for academic affairs. "Charles Pickering is a dedicated Christian and distinguished jurist," he said. "His record of service, not only to his state and nation, but also to his church, is peerless." MC supporters, Howard said, "are especially proud of Judge Pickering for his many efforts to advance racial reconciliation in Mississippi."

Drake Law Review

2008-06-24T12:15:00.001-06:00

Charles Pickering has written the foreword to the latest edition of the Drake Law Review: The Intersection of Personal Convictions and Federal Judicial Selection.

The Obama Court

2008-05-15T08:14:00.003-06:00

In my column today in the Madison County Journal, I write about the difference between a John McCain judiciary and a Barack Obama judiciary. Here is an excerpt:

Pickering, Wallace, and Southwick believe in the Constitution; they believe we are a nation of laws and not of men; they believe role of a judge is to interpret the laws and Constitution as written, and not to legislate from the bench or impose their own beliefs and values onto others through their rulings.

Senator John McCain shares that perspective.

Last week in a speech on his judicial philosophy delivered at Wake Forest University, McCain promised if elected President: "I will look for accomplished men and women with a proven record of excellence in the law, and a proven commitment to judicial restraint. I will look for people in the cast of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and my friend the late William Rehnquist - jurists of the highest caliber who know their own minds, and know the law, and know the difference. My nominees will understand that there are clear limits to the scope of judicial power, and clear limits to the scope of federal power. They will be men and women of experience and wisdom, and the humility that comes with both. They will do their work with impartiality, honor, and humanity, with an alert conscience, immune to flattery and fashionable theory, and faithful in all things to the Constitution of the United States."

Sen. Barack Obama, who appears to be inching toward the Democratic nomination, told a very different philosophy to CNN in a recent interview: "What you're looking for is somebody who is going to apply the law where it's clear. Now there's gonna be those five percent of cases or one percent of cases where the law isn't clear. And the judge has to then bring in his or her own perspectives, his ethics, his or her moral bearings. And in those circumstance what I do want is a judge who is sympathetic enough to those who are on the outside, those who are vulnerable, those who are powerless, those who can't have access to political power and as a consequence can't protect themselves from being being dealt with sometimes unfairly, that the courts become a refuge for justice. That's been its historic role. That was its role in Brown v. Board of Education."

Obama is a former constitutional law professor. He knows what he is saying. Obama believes a judge should interpret vague laws based on his own opinions, his own ethics, his own values, and weight those beliefs in favor of the underdog. That is the essence of liberal judicial activism.

Judges appealing to their own perspectives, ethics, and morals ruled in Dredd Scott v Sandford that blacks were not citizens; and judges seeking the law in themselves - as Obama advocates - ruled in Plessy v Ferguson to create separate but equal policies.

Some may say it is absurd to put Obama on the same side as these horrendous Supreme Court rulings. However, if activist judges had not ignored originalism in the former, nor disregarded the Fourteenth Amendment in the latter, America's journey to equality would have been achieved earlier.

When we become a nation of men and not laws, even if those men have good intentions, we have injustice.

You can read the full column here: PERRY/Exercising judicial restraint

Pickering on McCain's "Gang of 14"

2008-05-06T17:39:00.004-06:00

The Republican National Lawyers Association and Southern Appeal both mention Judge Pickering's view on the Gang of 14.

There is no way you can look at that agreement as a Democratic victory. Two days after the Deal was announced, Owen was confirmed by the Senate. Two weeks later, Brown was confirmed, and the next day the Senate confirmed Pryor. These confirmations were exactly what President Bush and the Republicans had tried to accomplish for five long years and the Democrats had blocked.

The confirmation of Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justice Sam Alito --two exceptionally capable and conservative jurists-- were made relatively easy because of the "Gang of Fourteen Agreement."

Judge Pickering wrote extensively on the Gang of 14 in Supreme Chaos and while it wasn't an ultimate solution to the trench warfare over the judicial nominations, he did believe it to be a strategic no-lose situation for Republicans. The Gang of 14 Republicans agreed not to use the "Constitutional" or "nuclear" option and the Democrats agreed not to filibuster. But with no filibuster there was no occasion for Republicans to employ their parliamentary tactic. Pickering writes:

In a sense, the seven Republicans made an empty gesture in the agreement. If the Democrats did not filibuster, there would be no reason or occasion for the Republicans to vote for the constitutional option. In essence, the Republicans ceded nothing...But as a whole, the deal allowed the confirmation of Republican nominees and raised the filibuster threshold for the future...The American people and the Senate had grown tired of the special-interest groups fighting every day for five years to keep Bush's nominees off the Courts. And with the new Gang of 14 threshold in place, the climate of debate had changed.

Michelle Malkin speaks at Pickering Honors Institute

2008-04-07T10:22:00.002-06:00

The Hattiesburg American notes that Michelle Malkin will be speaking at the The Charles Pickering Honors Institute at JCJC today.

The Charles Pickering Honors Institute and the Rho Sigma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa invite you to hear Michelle Malkin, syndicated columnist, blogger and Fox News consultant, at 10:30 a.m. today in the Fine Arts Auditorium at Jones County Junior College. Malkin will speak on the war against terrorism and explain why she thinks our country is still vulnerable.

Novak - No

2007-12-01T10:36:00.000-06:00

Novak writes that Barbour will not appoint Charles Pickering to the Senate: "Contrary to published reports, there is zero possibility that Mississippi's Republican Gov. Haley Barbour will name 70-year-old retired federal Judge Charles Pickering to the Senate vacancy created by Sen. Trent Lott's impending resignation. Barbour feels Mississippi's tradition is for U.S. senators holding their seats for many years, not temporary seat warmers."

More Senator Pickering Talk

2007-11-30T12:12:00.000-06:00

More talk of a scenario elevating Judge Charles Pickering to U.S. Senator, this time from John Gizzi at Human Events:

There is another twist herein: if the “snap” election is held, Wicker faces the specter of giving up his House seat, losing a Senate race, and being out of office completely. Under those circumstances, one veteran Jackson Republican told me, “Roger would not accept appointment” and, most likely, a stopgap senator would be appointed -- very likely Charles Pickering, retired federal judge and a hero among conservative Mississippians for the way in which his appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals was thwarted. (Pickering, namesake-father of a U.S. House Member from Mississippi, is a former state senator and state party chairman who lost the GOP primary for the Senate to present Sen. Thad Cochran in 1978).

At 70, the elder Pickering is unlikely to run for a full term and this would open up the race to numerous ambitious Republicans and thereby help the chances of a Democratic powerhouse like Moore.

Mississippi Federalist Society

2007-11-28T11:22:00.000-06:00

Thursday, November 29th, the Mississippi Federalist Society will honor Judge Charles Pickering and present him with their Madison Award. The guest speaker is Alfred S. Regnery, publisher of The American Spectator magazine, founder of Regnery Publishing, and author of Upstream - the Ascendance of American Conservatism. Details follow.

Why the Future of American Conservatism is Bright
Federalist Society - Mississippi Lawyers Chapter
E. Grady Jolly, Charles W. Pickering Sr., Al Regnery

Start: Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:00 PM
End: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:15 PM

Location:
The Capital Club
125 South Congress Street
19th Floor
Jackson, Mississippi

Speakers:
Alfred S. Regnery, Publisher, The American Spectator magazine and Author of Upstream - the Ascendance of American Conservatism
Hon. E. Grady Jolly, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Hon. Charles W. Pickering, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (Ret.) & Senior Counsel, Baker Donelson

Registration details:
To RSVP, contact Gina Barnes at 601-965- 8137 or for more information, contact Brad Prewitt at 662-401-3431. The cost is $13.00.

Senator Pickering?

2007-11-28T08:35:00.000-06:00

While many political observers are waiting to see whether Congressman Chip Pickering will be appointed to or run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Trent Lott, at least some folks are suggesting that Governor Haley Barbour appoint his father, former 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Charles W. Pickering, Sr. It certainly would be intersting for the senior Pickering to be able to confront his former obstructors as Senate colleagues.

US News and World Report posts Bush allies are pushing for Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to choose retired federal Judge Charles Pickering, rejected by Democrats for higher office, as Lott's replacement in the Senate. "It would be the biggest in-your-face move if it happened," said one proponent of the move. Pickering was nominated for a federal appeals court post in 2002 but was blocked, in part because of his antiabortion position as well as charges of racial insensitivity. He was renominated and given a recess appointment but eventually withdrew his name. Proponents of picking Pickering, 70, say it would also help to revive the issue of the role of judges and presidential preferences on the eve of the 2008 presidential race.

LTE spreads false charges

2007-11-19T09:12:00.000-06:00

In a letter-to-the-editor in Sunday's Clarion Ledger, Briley Richmond of Ocean Springs, Mississippi defends Mike Wallace but spreads the already refuted charges against Charles Pickering.

Richmond says, "Pickering was law partner to the head of the Sovereignty Commission in 1964."

Bill Minor refuted this charge years ago in a column saying:

Those who cite federal District Judge Charles Pickering's havein practiced law in Laurel during the 1960s with then-Lt. Gov. Carroll Gartin as indiciative of pickering's segregationist past are barking up the wrong tree.

This writer knew almost all of the players on the scene back in those days of racial extremism and Gartin, who died suddenly in 1966, was far from being one of the racists.

Gartin, in fact, was defeated for governor in 1959 after being branded as a "moderate" (a term implying being soft on segregation back then) by the segregationist white Citizens Councils.

Evidently some opponents of Pickering's elevation to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals belive it damaging evidence that Gartin, Pickering's one-time law partner, had servedon the infamous state Soveregnty Commission.

For the record, Gartin as lieutenant governor (from 1956 to 1960 and again from 1964 until his suddden death in 1966) was by law designated as ex-officio vice chairman of the Sovereignty Commission, but he had little to do with the commission's operations.

When Gartin ran for governor in 1959 with the backing of progressive Gov. J.P. Coleman, he was a strong favorite to win until the then-powerful white Citizens Councils began flexing their political muscle and elected their chosen candidate, Ross Barnett....

Certainly, if Pickering's association with the late Carroll Gartin is the best "evidence" foes have against his judgeship appointment, they don't have much of a case.

Richmond next charges, "Then, in the early '70s, he used his position in the state Senate to seal the records of the Sovereignty Commission."

Richmond is just reading from anti-Pickering talking points. The vote on the Sovereginty Commission was either to seal the records and preserve them, or to destroy them. The progressive vote was to seal them; the segregationist vote was to destroy them as to hide them from history. Furthermore, Pickering had no involvement with the Commission's actions and he voted to abolish the Commission as a state Senator.

Richmond is right to defend Mike Wallace against his attackers. But he missed the point that these are the exact same people who attacked Pickering with the exact same type of allegations. And just as the lied about Wallace, they lied about Pickering.

A suggestion to Richmond, read the books.

Pickering & Moore at Millsaps

2007-11-08T15:36:00.000-06:00

Millsaps Arts & Lecture Series presents A Look Back, A Look Forward with Charles Pickering and Mike Moore, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; $10; Millsaps College, Ford Academic Complex Recital Hall, Jackson, Mississippi; (601) 974-1043.

Two Mississippians, both attorneys and public servants, take a look at the November statewide elections and put forward their own interpretations of what happened and what it means. They will also look ahead to the national election cycle of 2008. Former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore (1988-2004) filed the first lawsuit against 13 tobacco companies in 1994. Judge Charles Pickering has been Prosecuting Attorney for Laurel and Jones Counties, and was elected to two terms in the Mississippi State Senate. He served as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi from 1990-2004. On January 16, 2004, Judge Pickering was given a recess appointment to the United State Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by President Bush. In December of 2004, he retired from the federal bench to private practice, and is the author of 2006’s Supreme Chaos and 2007’s A Price Too High.

Southwick Confirmed

2007-10-25T07:30:00.000-06:00

WDAM: Southwick To Join 5th Circuit

Clarion Ledger Editorial: Southwick: Judge judged by region's history

Andy Taggart has the vote tallies for cloture and confirmation.

NYT: Judge opposed by Democrats confirmed

Southwick Vote Today

2007-10-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

The Clarion Ledger reports: "The Senate is expected to vote today to end debate on the nomination of Mississippi Judge Leslie Southwick to the federal bench, setting the stage for a vote after weeks of delay....Because some Democrats oppose Southwick's nomination to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a 60-vote majority will be needed to end debate on the nomination....If all 49 Republicans vote for Southwick, as expected, 11 Democratic votes would be needed to end debate on the nomination and then hold an up-or-down confirmation vote....Several conservative Democrats, including Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, have committed to voting for Southwick to sit on the court to hear cases from Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas....Several Democrats have said they will vote to end debate on Southwick's nomination, including Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Mark Pryor of Arkansas....Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent who usually votes with Democrats, also is expected to vote for cloture."

Pickering confronts his critics

2007-09-23T14:08:00.000-06:00

Sid Salter writes a great piece in today's Clarion Ledger on Charles Pickering and "A Price Too High."

An excerpt from Salter's piece:

In Pickering's second book, he confronts his Senate and special interest tormentors - particularly U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and the group People For the American Way. He does it merely by letting them be hoisted on the petard of their own contradictory comments in their attempts to smear a white Southerner with the false charge of racism....

In A Price Too High, Pickering recounts the behind-the-scenes political machinations on Capitol Hill - including his defense in public and private by his son, 3rd District U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Flora. But he also writes about the toll it took on his health and on his family.

One particularly powerful chapter focuses on Judge Pickering's March 28, 2004, interview on the CBS news magazine show 60 Minutes with veteran journalist Mike Wallace.

Wallace, feared by politicians and public officials for his ability to get to the truth regardless of the consequence, gave 16.74 million Americans a chance to get to know Pickering and hear what Mississippians had to say about the charges of racism lodged against him by Schumer, the People for the American Way and other critics.

One of the real stars of the 60 Minutes piece was veteran civil rights activist Charles Evers, the brother of slain NAACP field director Medgar Evers. Charles Evers staunchly defended Pickering in front of a national television audience and told of his efforts to battle the Ku Klux Klan in Jones County in the 1960s.

Evers recently read Pickering's second book.

"Unlike those who attacked him in Washington, D.C., I know Charles Pickering personally; and I know his positive record on race relations, civil rights, and equal protection for all," said Evers. "Washington liberals attempted to portray him as a racist; they sickened me. I've been in the fight. I have the wounds. I know the truth. If you are interested in promoting better race relations, you should read Charles Pickering's story."

(Read Salter's Full Piece Here)