Derailing Southwick may take filibuster

The Clarion-Ledger, 9/5/7

With a Senate confirmation vote looming, there’s a new round of lobbying for and against Mississippi Judge Leslie Southwick’s nomination to the federal bench.

Southwick’s nomination to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been bitterly opposed by many Democrats who’ve criticized the judge’s record on civil rights based on decisions he made while serving on the Mississippi Court of Appeals.

But opposition to Southwick has not reached the level it had for previous nominees for that seat whom the Democrats were able to block from Senate confirmation – Mississippi Judge Charles Pickering and Jackson lawyer Mike Wallace.