Patrick Leahy: “the nomination of Keith Starrett of Mississippi is strongly supported by Senator Lott and Senator Cochran. Judge…”

“the nomination of Keith Starrett of Mississippi is strongly supported by Senator Lott and Senator Cochran. Judge Starrett is nominated to a vacancy on the Southern District of Mississippi created when the President ignored the Senate's withholding of its consent and unilaterally appointed Judge Charles Pickering to the Fifth Circuit. With this nomination, President Bush forfeited another opportunity to be a uniter and to draw the country together. I understand the concerns of so many African-American organizations and lawyers who continue to ask the President to begin to achieve some diversity on that bench by the nomination and appointment of a qualified African American. The Magnolia Bar Association, a primarily African-American bar association in Mississippi, has written the Senate in connection with this nomination. The Magnolia Bar's president, Crystal Wise Martin, expresses the group's strong opposition to proceeding with Judge Starrett's nomination, not only because it is so late in the session but also because, as she writes: ``[I]t fails to remedy the egregious problem concerning the lack of diversity on Mississippi's federal bench.''”