Illini, Fight for Rights!

April 26, 2005—Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is well known as a defender of the rights of people with disabilities, but his comments yesterday raise the specter that he may waver in the fight to block Senate confirmation of radical judges who have undermined bedrock civil rights protections for tens of millions of Americans with mental and physical disabilities. Help us remind Senator Durbin that now is no time to compromise disability rights for political expediency.

According to this morning’s Washington Post, Senator Durbin and the Senate Democratic leadership have been in talks with Republicans about allowing votes on many of the most controversial judicial nominees that have so far been stopped.

This compromise could allow such radical nominees as Terrence Boyle and Bill Pryor to assume lifetime appointments to two of the most powerful courts in the land. Both Boyle and Pryor have been opposed by the Bazelon Center, ADA Watch/the National Coalition for Disability Rights and many other civil rights advocates for their long records of undermining civil rights protections for people with mental and physical disabilities:

As a result of Pryor’s arguments in Garrett v. Board of Trustees of Univ. of Alabama, the Supreme Court ruled to limit dramatically the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employment discrimination. Patricia Garrett, and thousands more, ultimately lost the right to seek monetary damages from their employers for discrimination on the basis of disability. Pryor’s reasoning in the case has since been used in attempts to further limit the ADA’s scope and enforcement.

Boyle has ruled that Congress overstepped its authority in providing certain protections to people with disabilities under the ADA. His reasoning in these decisions was rejected last May by the Supreme Court's decision in Tennessee v. Lane. In fact, an extraordinary number of Boyle's decisions have been reversed or overruled by higher courts and many of his positions have been so extreme that even judges on the conservative Fourth Circuit criticized his reading as too narrow.

The civil rights of tens of millions of Americans with Disabilities are at stake. Tell Senator Durbin you won’t compromise on their civil rights and he shouldn’t either!

Terrence Boyle's Record on Disability Rights (Updated 2/24/05)
Bill Pryor’s Record on Disability Rights

Take action Now!

Make the Call: Contact Senator Durbin’s Washington office to urge him to stand firm in the fight over radical judicial nominees like Terrence Boyle and Bill Pryor.

Senator Durbin’s Washington Office: (202) 224-2152

Once you’ve been connected, ask to speak to the Legislative Assistant handling judicial nominations and urge him/her to oppose any compromise that would allow Terrence Boyle or Bill Pryor to be confirmed.

Alternately, you may wish to contact one of Senator Durbin’s offices in Illinois:

Chicago: (312) 353-4952
Springfield: (217) 492-4062
Marion: (618) 998-8812
Send an Email: Use our e-advocacy system to send Senator Durbin a loud, clear message that you oppose Boyle and Pryor and that he should, too

Fast Facts on Terrence Boyle

Boyle was first nominated to the Fourth Circuit on the recommendation of former Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC). The Fourth Circuit covers North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland; More than 3.1 million people with disabilities live in these states, according to U.S. Census data. (1)
As a district court judge, Boyle was reversed by the Fourth Circuit, known as an extremely conservative court, in more than 150 cases, including dozens of cases involving civil rights and criminal justice issues, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
In Butler v. Burroughs Wellcome, Inc., Terrence Boyle required a plaintiff whose psychiatric disability allegedly resulted from past physical and sexual abuse to allow defendants unlimited access to her entire medical history.
More information on Boyle’s record

Fast Facts on Bill Pryor

Bill Pryor is the former Attorney General of Alabama. Pryor, who did not win Senate confirmation of his nomination to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals last year, has been re-nominated by President Bush to serve on the Eleventh Circuit.
The Eleventh Circuit is made up of Florida, Georgia and Alabama; More than 3.6 million people with disabilities live in these states, according to U.S. Census data. (2)
Pryor has been serving temporarily as an Eleventh Circuit judge because President Bush used a “recess” nomination to circumvent the Senate’s “advice and consent” role and appoint Pryor for a one-year period.
As Alabama Attorney General, Pryor filed briefs calling for eliminating protections in the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and other federal anti-discrimination laws.
Discussing his efforts to abandon court-ordered improvements in Alabama’s child welfare system, Pryor stated publicly that “[i]t matters not to me” whether his actions would leave children unprotected. He continued, “My job is to make sure that the state of Alabama isn’t run by federal courts. . . . My job isn’t to come here and help children.”
More information on Pryor’s record

Notes

(1) U.S. Census Bureau. “Disability Status of the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population by Sex and Selected Characteristics for the United States and Puerto Rico: 2000.” Available online at:

http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/phc-t32.html

Fourth Circuit non-institutionalized people with disabilities, age 5 and above: North Carolina (988,730); South Carolina (516,725); Virginia (758,350); West Virginia (316,600); and Maryland (535,275)

(2) Ibid.

Eleventh Circuit non-institutionalized people with disabilities, age 5 and above: Florida (2,067,645); Georgia (903,100); Alabama (644,260)

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Fair Use Policy
Please feel free to forward our alerts as long as you credit the Bazelon Center with a link to our website:
http://www.bazelon.org