Charles W. Pickering
Encyclopedia
Charles Willis Pickering, Sr. (born May 29, 1937 in Laurel, Mississippi
, USA) is a retired federal judge
who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
.
in 1959, and an LL.B. also from the University of Mississippi
in 1961.
Active in the Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi
in the early 1960s, Judge Pickering switched to the Mississippi Republican Party
in 1964. He claimed at the time that "the people of [Mississippi] were heaped with humiliation and embarrassment at the Democratic Convention" in Atlantic City
after the national Democratic Party
seated two civil rights activists from the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
with the all-white delegation Pickering supported. Pickering, along with other disaffected segregationist Democrats, played a key role in building the Republican Party in Mississippi in the following years.
As a young prosecutor in the sixties, Pickering worked closely with the FBI to go after the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi. In 1966, he testified against Klan member Sam Bowers, on trial for murdering civil rights activist Vernon Damer. After testifying, Pickering and his family needed FBI protection. The Klan later claimed credit for his defeat after running for the state legislature. The Senate Congressional Record from October 30, 2003 confirms that Pickering worked with the FBI.
Judge Pickering was appointed and served as City Prosecuting Attorney of Laurel, Mississippi
and was elected and served four years as County Prosecuting Attorney of Jones County, Mississippi
. As a young judge, he served briefly as Laurel City Judge and was elected to two terms in the Mississippi Senate, 1972 to 1980. In 1978, he sought the Republican nomination for the United States Senate seat that was being vacated by Democraic Senator James O. Eastland, but lost to Congressman Thad Cochran. Cochran in turn defeated Democrat Maurice Dantin and Independent Charles Evers to win the seat in the general election. In 1979, Pickering was the Republican nominee for state Attorney General
and lost by a narrow margin. He also served as Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party from 1976 to 1978.
In 1976, Judge Pickering chaired the subcommittee of the Republican Party's Platform Committee that called for a Constitutional amendment that would have overruled Roe v. Wade
.
In 1984, as president of the Mississippi Baptist
Convention, Pickering was presiding when the Convention adopted a resolution calling for legislation to outlaw abortion
except when necessary to preserve a woman's life.
Judge Pickering was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
on October 2, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush
.
nominated Judge Pickering for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
vacated by Judge Henry Anthony Politz
who had taken senior status
in 1999, but Judge Pickering's nomination was not acted upon favorably by the Senate Judiciary Committee then under the control of Democratic senator, Patrick Leahy
D-VT. Nevertheless, on January 7, 2003, President Bush renominated Pickering to the same position. With the Republicans now in charge of the committee during the 108th Congress, Pickering's nomination was voted out to the full Senate. With no way to stop his confirmation, the Senate Democrats chose to filibuster Pickering in order to prevent him from receiving a straight up-or-down confirmation vote.
Democratic opposition to Judge Pickering was based mainly upon two factors. First, during two hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he maintained a position opposing abortion. Second, he was accused of "glaring racial insensitivity" because of a 1994 hate-crimes case in which he decided that 25-year-old Daniel Swan, who had participated with two others in a cross-burning, should receive a reduced sentence. The other participants in the cross-burning had escaped jail sentences for the crime because of plea bargains. During the course of testimony, Judge Pickering came to suspect the Civil Rights Division
had made a plea bargain with the wrong defendant. He felt that one of the other defendants, a 17-year-old, was more likely the ringleader of the group. When it came time to sentence Swan, Pickering questioned whether it made sense that the most-guilty defendant got off with a misdemeanor and no jail time, while a less-guilty defendant would be sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. "The recommendation of the government in this instance is clearly the most egregious instance of disproportionate sentencing recommended by the government in any case pending before this court," Pickering wrote. "The defendant [Swan] clearly had less racial animosity than the juvenile." Pickering sentenced Swan to two years in prison rather than to the seven and a half years originally requested by the Justice Department
. The Clinton Department of Justice later agreed with Pickering and requested a two-year sentence instead.
Groups that opposed Pickering's confirmation to the Fifth Circuit included: the national but not the Mississippi
chapter of the NAACP, the Legislative Black Caucus, the Magnolia Bar Association, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
, and the Mississippi Worker's Center for Human Rights, the Congressional Black Caucus
, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
, the Alliance for Justice
, the Human Rights Campaign
, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the National Bar Association
, the American Association of University Women
, the National Women's Law Center
, the National Partnership for Women and Families, NARAL Pro-Choice America
, the National Women's Political Caucus
, the AFL-CIO
, the American Federation of School Administrators
, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
, Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees
, the United Steelworkers of America and others.
However, Pickering's nomination was supported by several past leaders of the NAACP in Mississippi. One of his strongest supporters was Charles Evers
, brother of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers
.
Senate Republicans failed to overcome a filibuster
of Judge Pickering's nomination on October 30, 2003, when he did not receive enough votes to invoke cloture and end debate on his nomination. Frustrated with the obstruction of the Senate Democrats, on January 16, 2004, President George W. Bush
gave Judge Pickering a recess appointment
to the Fifth Circuit
.
In December 2004, unable to overcome his filibuster and with his recess appointment about to end, Judge Pickering announced that he was withdrawing his name from consideration as a nominee to the Fifth Circuit and retiring from the federal bench. He later was replaced as a nominee by Michael B. Wallace, but Wallace's nomination was also eventually withdrawn due to Democratic opposition. Only in 2007 was the seat allowed to be filled with Leslie H. Southwick
, who was confirmed almost entirely because of the support of California's Democratic senator, Dianne Feinstein
.
Thomas Sowell
wrote of the nomination that "Judge Charles Pickering, a federal judge in Mississippi who defended the civil rights of blacks for years and defied the Ku Klux Klan back when that was dangerous, was depicted as a racist when he was nominated for a federal appellate judgeship. No one even mistakenly thought he was a racist. The point was simply to discredit him for political reasons — and it worked."
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...
, USA) is a retired federal judge
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
.
Background
Judge Pickering received a B.A. from the University of MississippiUniversity of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in 1959, and an LL.B. also from the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in 1961.
Active in the Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi
Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi
The Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi is the local branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of Mississippi. Its headquarters is located in Jackson which is also the state capitol....
in the early 1960s, Judge Pickering switched to the Mississippi Republican Party
Mississippi Republican Party
The Mississippi Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party. The party chairman is Arnie Hederman and is based in Jackson, Mississippi. The party is the majority in the state.-History:...
in 1964. He claimed at the time that "the people of [Mississippi] were heaped with humiliation and embarrassment at the Democratic Convention" in Atlantic City
1964 Democratic National Convention
The 1964 Democratic National Convention was the 1964 presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party. It took place at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey from August 24 to 27, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson -- who had been Vice President under...
after the national Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
seated two civil rights activists from the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was an American political party created in the state of Mississippi in 1964, during the civil rights movement...
with the all-white delegation Pickering supported. Pickering, along with other disaffected segregationist Democrats, played a key role in building the Republican Party in Mississippi in the following years.
As a young prosecutor in the sixties, Pickering worked closely with the FBI to go after the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi. In 1966, he testified against Klan member Sam Bowers, on trial for murdering civil rights activist Vernon Damer. After testifying, Pickering and his family needed FBI protection. The Klan later claimed credit for his defeat after running for the state legislature. The Senate Congressional Record from October 30, 2003 confirms that Pickering worked with the FBI.
Judge Pickering was appointed and served as City Prosecuting Attorney of Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...
and was elected and served four years as County Prosecuting Attorney of Jones County, Mississippi
Jones County, Mississippi
-History:Jones County, formed out parts of Covington and Wayne counties, was established on January 24, 1826 and was named for John Paul Jones. There are other counties named Jones, but it appears that this is the only one named for John Paul Jones...
. As a young judge, he served briefly as Laurel City Judge and was elected to two terms in the Mississippi Senate, 1972 to 1980. In 1978, he sought the Republican nomination for the United States Senate seat that was being vacated by Democraic Senator James O. Eastland, but lost to Congressman Thad Cochran. Cochran in turn defeated Democrat Maurice Dantin and Independent Charles Evers to win the seat in the general election. In 1979, Pickering was the Republican nominee for state Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
and lost by a narrow margin. He also served as Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party from 1976 to 1978.
In 1976, Judge Pickering chaired the subcommittee of the Republican Party's Platform Committee that called for a Constitutional amendment that would have overruled Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
.
In 1984, as president of the Mississippi Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Convention, Pickering was presiding when the Convention adopted a resolution calling for legislation to outlaw abortion
Abortion in the United States
Abortion in the United States has been legal in every state since the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, on January 22, 1973...
except when necessary to preserve a woman's life.
Judge Pickering was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit with facilities in Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Vicksburg, and Jackson....
on October 2, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
.
Fifth Circuit nomination under Bush
On May 25, 2001, during the 107th Congress, President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
nominated Judge Pickering for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
vacated by Judge Henry Anthony Politz
Henry Anthony Politz
Henry Anthony Politz was a United States federal judge.Born in Napoleonville, Louisiana, Politz was a U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1955. He received a B.A. from Louisiana State University in 1958 and a J.D. from Louisiana State University Law School in 1959...
who had taken senior status
Senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...
in 1999, but Judge Pickering's nomination was not acted upon favorably by the Senate Judiciary Committee then under the control of Democratic senator, Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...
D-VT. Nevertheless, on January 7, 2003, President Bush renominated Pickering to the same position. With the Republicans now in charge of the committee during the 108th Congress, Pickering's nomination was voted out to the full Senate. With no way to stop his confirmation, the Senate Democrats chose to filibuster Pickering in order to prevent him from receiving a straight up-or-down confirmation vote.
Democratic opposition to Judge Pickering was based mainly upon two factors. First, during two hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he maintained a position opposing abortion. Second, he was accused of "glaring racial insensitivity" because of a 1994 hate-crimes case in which he decided that 25-year-old Daniel Swan, who had participated with two others in a cross-burning, should receive a reduced sentence. The other participants in the cross-burning had escaped jail sentences for the crime because of plea bargains. During the course of testimony, Judge Pickering came to suspect the Civil Rights Division
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is the institution within the federal government responsible for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin. The Division was established on December 9, 1957, by...
had made a plea bargain with the wrong defendant. He felt that one of the other defendants, a 17-year-old, was more likely the ringleader of the group. When it came time to sentence Swan, Pickering questioned whether it made sense that the most-guilty defendant got off with a misdemeanor and no jail time, while a less-guilty defendant would be sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. "The recommendation of the government in this instance is clearly the most egregious instance of disproportionate sentencing recommended by the government in any case pending before this court," Pickering wrote. "The defendant [Swan] clearly had less racial animosity than the juvenile." Pickering sentenced Swan to two years in prison rather than to the seven and a half years originally requested by the Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
. The Clinton Department of Justice later agreed with Pickering and requested a two-year sentence instead.
Groups that opposed Pickering's confirmation to the Fifth Circuit included: the national but not the Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
chapter of the NAACP, the Legislative Black Caucus, the Magnolia Bar Association, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
, and the Mississippi Worker's Center for Human Rights, the Congressional Black Caucus
Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus is an organization representing the black members of the United States Congress. Membership is exclusive to blacks, and its chair in the 112th Congress is Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri.-Aims:...
, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights , formerly called The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, is an umbrella group of American civil rights interest groups.-Organizational history:...
, the Alliance for Justice
Alliance for Justice
Alliance for Justice is a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organizations in the USA....
, the Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is a national non-profit civil rights organization formed in 1968 to protect the rights of Latinos in the United States...
, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the National Bar Association
National Bar Association
The National Bar Association was established in 1925 as the "Negro Bar Association" after Gertrude Rush, George H. Woodson, S. Joe Brown, James B. Morris, and Charles P. Howard, Sr. were denied membership in the American Bar Association. It represents the interests of African-American attorneys in...
, the American Association of University Women
American Association of University Women
The American Association of University Women advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. It was founded in 1882 by Ellen Swallow Richards and Marion Talbot...
, the National Women's Law Center
National Women's Law Center
The National Women's Law Center is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization founded in 1972. Through litigation and policy initiatives, the Center strives to improve the lives of women and their families in the areas of health, employment, family economic security, and education...
, the National Partnership for Women and Families, NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America , formerly the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, then National Abortion Rights Action League, and later National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, is an organization in the United States that engages in political action to oppose...
, the National Women's Political Caucus
National Women's Political Caucus
The National Women's Political Caucus is a national bipartisan grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting women who seek elected and appointed offices....
, the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
, the American Federation of School Administrators
American Federation of School Administrators
The American Federation of School Administrators or AFSA represents public school principals, vice principals, administrators, and supervisors in the United States...
, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is the second- or third-largest labor union in the United States and one of the fastest-growing, representing over 1.4 million employees, primarily in local and state government and in the health care industry. AFSCME is part of the...
, Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees
Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees
The Union of Needle trades, Industrial, and Textile Employees was a labor union in the United States, formed in 1995 as a merger between the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union...
, the United Steelworkers of America and others.
However, Pickering's nomination was supported by several past leaders of the NAACP in Mississippi. One of his strongest supporters was Charles Evers
Charles Evers
James Charles Evers is a prominent American civil rights advocate. The older brother of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers, Charles Evers is a leading civil rights spokesman within the Republican Party in his native Mississippi. In 1969 he became the first African American since the...
, brother of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers
Medgar Wiley Evers was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi...
.
Senate Republicans failed to overcome a filibuster
Filibuster
A filibuster is a type of parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal...
of Judge Pickering's nomination on October 30, 2003, when he did not receive enough votes to invoke cloture and end debate on his nomination. Frustrated with the obstruction of the Senate Democrats, on January 16, 2004, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
gave Judge Pickering a recess appointment
Recess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...
to the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
.
In December 2004, unable to overcome his filibuster and with his recess appointment about to end, Judge Pickering announced that he was withdrawing his name from consideration as a nominee to the Fifth Circuit and retiring from the federal bench. He later was replaced as a nominee by Michael B. Wallace, but Wallace's nomination was also eventually withdrawn due to Democratic opposition. Only in 2007 was the seat allowed to be filled with Leslie H. Southwick
Leslie H. Southwick
Leslie H. Southwick is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and a former judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals...
, who was confirmed almost entirely because of the support of California's Democratic senator, Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
.
Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social theorist, political philosopher, and author. A National Humanities Medal winner, he advocates laissez-faire economics and writes from a libertarian perspective...
wrote of the nomination that "Judge Charles Pickering, a federal judge in Mississippi who defended the civil rights of blacks for years and defied the Ku Klux Klan back when that was dangerous, was depicted as a racist when he was nominated for a federal appellate judgeship. No one even mistakenly thought he was a racist. The point was simply to discredit him for political reasons — and it worked."
Personal
Judge Pickering is married to Margaret Ann Pickering, with whom he has three daughters and one son, former U.S. Representative Charles "Chip" Pickering, Jr.Chip Pickering
"Charles Willis Pickering" redirects here. For this former congressman's father, see Charles W. Pickering.Charles Willis "Chip" Pickering, Jr. is a politician in the U.S. state of Mississippi. He represented as a Republican in the United States House of Representatives...
See also
- George W. Bush judicial appointment controversiesGeorge W. Bush judicial appointment controversiesDuring President George W. Bush's two term tenure in office, he nominated thirty-nine people for twenty-seven different federal appellate judgeships that were blocked by the Senate Democrats either directly in the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the full Senate floor using a filibuster....
- filibuster
- cloture
- recess appointmentRecess appointmentA recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...