H.J.RES.62 – a Constitutional Amendment on federal judgeships

In yesterday’s legislative action, the House Republicans have launched another stealth attack against the federal judiciary. H.J. Res.62 is a proposed constitutional amendment which would effectively give the individual states delayed veto power over federal judges whose districts fall within their boundaries.

H.J.RES.62
Title: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that Federal district court judges be reconfirmed every ten years by the executive and legislative authorities of the State in which they serve.
Sponsor: Rep Culberson, John Abney [R TX-7] (introduced 7/28/2005)

Cosponsors:

• Rep Akin, W. Todd [R MO-2]
• Rep Davis, Jo Ann [R VA-1]
• Rep Duncan, John J., Jr. [R TN-2]
• Rep Foxx, Virginia [R NC-5]
• Rep Goode, Virgil H., Jr. [R VA-5]
• Rep Hayworth, J. D. [R AZ-5]
• Rep Herger, Wally [R CA-2]
• Rep Johnson, Sam [R TX-3]
• Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [R NC-3]
• Rep Lewis, Ron [R KY-2]
• Rep Marchant, Kenny [R TX-24]
• Rep McHenry, Patrick T. [R NC-10]
• Rep Poe, Ted [R TX-2]
• Rep Tancredo, Thomas G. [R CO-6]
• Rep Wilson, Joe [R SC-2]

Latest Major Action: 7/28/2005 Referred to House committee.
Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

This amendment would accomplish 2 things: it would eliminate the lifetime appointment of federal judges and it would give state governors and legislators the power to remove judges administering federal—not state–law. The role of the federal courts is often to rule on constitutionality of state laws as well as to hear trials of federal crimes. Giving the states the power to remove those federal judges would in affect remove the right of the federal courts to make state laws toe the constitutional line, allowing them to be removed for ruling against the state. Had this been in effect in the 1960s, states could have blocked desegregation orders and the federal dismantling of Jim Crow laws.

I don’t expect this bill to have legs, but the fact that it was introduced in the same session as H.R. 3073, another proposed constituional amendment which would give Congress the right to overturn Supreme Court decisions, is a signal to the public of how little respect the Republican Party has for the separation of powers.

For more information, go to Thomas and search H.J.RES.62.

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