[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 17, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H1218-H1219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         JUDGE MASSIAH-JACKSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), the majority leader, for his 
kindness. Obviously I realize that we are at the time of his special 
order, but I do want to comment, as a member of the House Committee on 
the Judiciary, on the concern I had for the withdrawing of the 
nomination of Judge Massiah-Jackson. Let me first salute Judge Massiah-
Jackson for her leadership as the common pleas court judge in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and for the vigorous and dignified approach 
that she took to continuing her confirmation.
  She was a nominee of the President of the United States, William 
Jefferson Clinton, and in fact had passed confirmation hearings and was 
moving to the floor. I do believe that we have a crisis process that is 
now broken. Our judges are not being appointed and are not completing 
the confirmation process. The Supreme Court has commented on the 
appalling backlog of Federal judges and the backlog of cases.
  I call this an abomination on the justice system of this country and 
ask my colleagues who have political differences with the nominees to 
recognize the separation of powers, the right of the government and the 
President to appoint and certainly advise and consent.
  But let me tell you what I believe the action should be in light of 
this harmonious debate we have just had. I am calling for the 
leadership of the NAACP, the National Urban League, the American Civil 
Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and all who may be 
considering this great crisis, the National Council of Negro Women, the 
Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Coalition of 100 Black Men, certainly 
the Black Women Political Caucus to come together to address this 
crisis. We do have a crisis. The system is broken. Judges are being 
rejected and refused. Judge Massiah-Jackson was the last victim of this 
process.
  We cannot have the conservative rule destroy the appointment of 
Federal judges who deserve to be appointed, who are fair and impartial, 
a system that should not be tainted by politics. My heart is simply 
broken for the loss of this woman, the trampling on her constitutional 
rights as well as her dignity, the disrespect that was shown her, her 
losing this process and not going forward for a vote.
  I can only say that we have a crisis. All who will hear my voice, I 
simply ask for you to respond. If we stand together, we can fight 
against this abomination and restore the dignity to the process and 
allow us to go forward in the way that we should.
  Judge Massiah-Jackson, I thank you for being a true American. You 
have my support and appreciation. I will commit to you that we will 
subject no one else to the tragedy of being so defeated, lonely, 
without the support of so many that were needed.
  I thank the gentleman for allowing me this time.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today, ladies and gentlemen, 
is a shameful day in the history of our federal judicial appointment 
process. When the Framers of the Constitution decided that the United 
States Senate should confirm all Presidential appointees for the 
federal bench, surely, they could not have imagined that this process 
would be used for the kind of unmitigated character assassination that 
Judge Frederica A. Massiah-Jackson has had to endure for the last few 
months.
  The sad fact of this case is that in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the 
cradle of our most fundamental liberties, a place known far and wide as 
the city of brotherly love, an insufferable crime against justice has 
been committed. Judge Frederica A. Massiah-Jackson has withdrawn her 
name today from consideration for the Federal District Court bench in 
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
  Since her approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee last October, 
Judge Massiah-Jackson, a Common Pleas Court magistrate in Philadelphia 
since 1984, has been the subject of vicious attacks about her record on 
crime. To me, the most terrible tragedy of this situation is that Judge 
Massiah-Jackson's critics have been able to use a series of smoke and 
mirrors tactics in regards to her record to undermine both her 
qualifications and her credibility. Obviously, these critics have been 
extremely effective at their task, because they have given Judge 
Massiah-Jackson the impression that her nomination by the Senate was a 
lost cause.
  My friends, this is a real-life travesty if you take the time to look 
at the facts. According to today's Philadelphia Inquirer, the 
Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, who was among the chief 
critics of Judge Massiah-Jackson's nomination, used approximately 1% of 
the judge's actual sitting cases as an evidentiary basis of her 
unfitness for the federal bench.
  The President, in a statement today, described these allegations as 
``baseless attacks that mischaracterized (the judge's) record without 
affording (her) an opportunity to respond''. Senator Arlen Specter of 
Pennsylvania similarly noted that Judge Massiah-Jackson was treated 
unfairly by both her opponents and the Senate Judiciary Committee. 
Judge Massiah-Jackson, without foreknowledge, was asked by the Senate 
Judiciary Committee about cases she decided over a decade ago. As 
Senator Specter said in response to this modus operandi by the 
Committee, ``the quintessential point of due process is notice''.

[[Page H1219]]

  Additionally, I find the timing of these charges to be extremely 
peculiar. The avalanche of charges about Judge Massiah-Jackson' record 
came several months after both her initial nomination and 
recommendation for appointment by the Judiciary Committee.
  The bottomline, however, is that these charges are completely 
unfounded. According to a report from the Philadelphia Bar Association, 
Judge Massiah-Jackson actually imposed sentences above the Pennsylvania 
sentencing guidelines more frequently that most other Common Pleas 
Court judges. Actually, in her last year on the bench, Judge Massiah-
Jackson was five times more likely than her peers to impose a sentence 
above the state guidelines. Tell me, ladies and gentlemen, how is this 
a soft record on crime?
  The reality is that this woman's professional record has been 
destroyed on rumor, unsubstantiated allegations and misplaced 
accusations. But what can be done for her now? Can her good name ever 
be restored to its previous standing? Are there any measure of 
apologies that can be given to restore her dreams? Judge Massiah-
Jackson would have been the first female federal judge ever to serve in 
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, but now where is her place in 
history, is it the place of honor that she deserved, or is it one of 
shame?
  Furthermore, I am disgusted by the vast number of people that have 
ignorantly played a role in this great tragedy of errors. Too many 
people simply jumped on the bandwagon of attacks in this case without 
substantive evidence. Judge Massiah-Jackson, wherever you are, I send 
my deepest apologies to you and your family. And I hope that in the 
future, this horrible miscarriage of justice does not dissuade other 
qualified women of your stature from seeking the high judicial offices 
that their record has earned them. We must end the backlog and 
conscious scheme to deny Judges appointed by this Democratic 
Administration their fair hearing and confirmation. Denial of them is a 
denial of social justice and civil rights for many Americans. It must 
cease and desist now!

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