Constitutional Law

Sen. Sessions is Concerned About "ACLU DNA" in Judicial Nominees

By Suzanne Ito, ACLU

You might've heard that yesterday, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) expressed his concern to members of Congress that some of President Obama's judicial nominees have ACLU affiliations and exhibit an "ACLU chromosome."

Laura Murphy, Director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office (and someone who probably has some ACLU DNA herself), said in a statement last night:

"Senator Sessions' reference to 'ACLU DNA' in President Obama's judicial nominees should be greeted as a welcome discovery by all Americans, regardless of party. For 90 years, the ACLU has defended the rights enshrined in the Constitution for everyone, regardless of their political beliefs. While not everyone agrees with us on every issue, Americans have come to rely on the ACLU for its unyielding dedication to principle.

Laura goes on to point out that Supreme Court justices Thurgood Marshall, Felix Frankfurter, Arthur Goldberg and Ruth Bader Ginsburg all had ACLU affiliations. "If you ask us, ACLU chromosomes make for a pretty remarkable gene pool," she concludes.

Full post as published by Blog of Rights on December 22, 2010 (boomark / email).