Sierra Club Challenges Judge Pryor's Recess Appointment

ATLANTA, Georgia, May 21, 2004 (ENS) - The Sierra Club and another environmental organization have challenged the legality of President George W. Bush's recess appointment of former Alabama Attorney General William Pryor to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

The Sierra Club and Georgia Forest Watch filed a motion this week to disqualify Judge Pryor from a case now pending in the 11th Circuit, which includes Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

The organizations argue in the motion that Pryor cannot maintain the judicial independence demanded by the U.S. Constitution, because his appointment is temporary and must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2005.

Bush's appointment of Pryor, the organizations argue in their brief, "is inconsistent with the constitutional guarantees of an independent judiciary."

The motion came in a Sierra Club appeal of decisions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding permits for coal-fired power plants under the Clean Air Act, Sierra Club and Georgia Forrestwatch v. Leavitt, No. 03-10262-F.

The motion urges the full appeals court to declare Judge Pryor's appointment unconstitutional and remove him from hearing that suit and all others.

"Lifetime appointments for federal judges protect our constitutional right to fair judges who are free from political pressure," said Justine Thompson, executive director of the Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest, which represents the Sierra Club and Georgia Forest Watch in the pending case. "How can I tell my clients that, because they are in the 11th Circuit, they no longer have this right?"

Bush installed Judge Pryor on the 11th Circuit on February 20, 2004, while Congress was in a 10 day recess for President’s Day.

The recess appointment puts Pryor on the court through the end of 2005, when he will have to be renominated by the White House and confirmed by the Senate.

Senate confirmation of judicial nominees requires a simple majority, but Senate Republicans had failed to muster the 60 votes need to end a Democratic filibuster of Pryor’s nomination and force a vote on the 41 year old former Alabama Attorney General.

"The framers of the U.S. Constitution defined recess appointments as long breaks between congressional sessions, not anytime the Senate adjourns,” said Pat Gallagher, legal director of Sierra Club. “If President Bush had his way, presidents could appoint judges anytime Senators adjourn for the weekend."

Environmentalists worry that Pryor's "extremist view of the Constitution" could lead to an erosion of federal environmental laws, said Gallagher.

Pryor was the second recess appointment enacted by Bush - in January the President appointed Mississippi federal judge Charles Pickering to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Historically, Presidents have appointed numerous federal judges while the Senate was in recess, including justices of the Supreme Court.

Senate Democrats have blocked all nominees since March after Bush twice used recess appointments to put two controversial nominees on federal appellate courts.

Bush promised Tuesday not to appoint any more of his judicial nominees by recess appointment in exchange for a pledge by Senate Democrats to end their delay of action on 25 less controversial nominees.