News-Record.com

The Democrats are taking their cue from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, which is opposing Boyle's confirmation. Here's what Wade Henderson, LCCR executive director, had to say about Boyle, according to the Charlotte Observer:

"This is a judge committed to the Old South, a friend of Jesse Helms, who helped keep black judges off the 4th Circuit."

That's a smear job.

Committed to the Old South? Is Boyle a proponent of slavery, or just the Jim Crow era? Does he belong to the Klan? Has he lynched anyone?

Well, he's a "friend" of Jesse Helms - and it was Helms who helped keep black judges off the 4th Circuit.

What Helms did - blocking Bill Clinton's nominees to the appeals court - was his typical obstructionism. Whether he blocked qualified judges such as James Beaty and James Wynn because they're black or simply because Clinton nominated them, I don't know. But Terrence Boyle didn't have anything to do with it. Using him to get back at Helms is foolish.

But what about the judge himself? The Observer reported that North Carolina civil rights groups oppose Boyle, who's been a federal district judge for more than 20 years. But the Observer added:

"Other traditional allies of the Democratic Party, including liberal trial lawyers and environmental groups, give Boyle glowing reviews.

"Wade Smith, a Raleigh trial lawyer who chaired the state Democratic Party in the mid-1980s, said Boyle was fair.

"'He sits squarely in the middle and holds the government's feet to the fire, making sure they do what the law requires,' Smith said. 'I can be (representing) a communist or the common people, the poorest of the poor, and he's always fair.'"

But Leahy portrayed Boyle as out of the mainstream, asserting that Boyle's rulings have been reversed on appeal 12 percent of the time, a high mark. Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham, however, challenged Leahy on the facts, citing a reversal rate of 7.5 percent - below the national average of 9.7 percent.

I think Boyle, rated as "well qualified" by the American Bar Association, probably is conservative. And he ought to be. In effect, he'll be representing North Carolina on the 4th Circuit court, and North Carolina twice has voted strongly for Bush. In my view, that entitles Bush to place the judges of his choice on the federal bench, provided the MAJORITY of senators concurs. Fortunately, Ted Kennedy and Pat Leahy don't represent majority opinion in the Senate, and their judgments sure don't hold much sway in North Carolina.

Unfortunately, Senate Democrats have taken to filibustering judicial nominees they don't like. Whether they'll use that tactic against Boyle isn't known yet. If they do, it will take 60 votes to break the filibuster and confirm him. I'd guess there would be enough moderate Dems willing to support Boyle, whom Bush first nominated in 2001 but was blocked from even getting a confirmation hearing by John Edwards - Helms style.

Addendum: Bush has appointed two black judges to the 4th Circuit court: Allyson Duncan of North Carolina, a Republican; and Roger Gregory of Virginia, a Democrat.