End Estrada delays, Bush urges Demos

WASHINGTON -- President Bush urged Democratic senators Saturday to end a two-week filibuster of Miguel Estrada's nomination to a federal appeals judgeship, claiming that delays in judicial confirmations "endanger American justice."

"I call on the Senate Democratic leadership to stop playing politics and permit a vote on Miguel Estrada's nomination," Bush said in his prerecorded weekly radio address.

"Let each senator vote as he or she thinks best, but give the man a vote."

Democrats have been holding up a final vote on Estrada, the president's choice to be the first Hispanic on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, often called the nation's second-highest court.

The D.C. Circuit has often decided important government cases involving separation of powers, the role of the federal government, the responsibilities of federal officials and the authority of federal agencies.

Estrada, a Washington lawyer, lacks the judicial experience to serve on that court, Democrats contend. They also complained about his lawyer's refusal to answer questions about specific cases, including abortion rights, during his confirmation hearing.

Democrats also demanded copies of confidential Justice Department memos Estrada wrote while working in the solicitor general's office, which represents the White House before the Supreme Court. They said those writings would reveal how Estrada would think as a judge.

The Bush administration has refused to release those memos, and seven former solicitors general, both Democratic and Republican, have agreed.

"Democrats are stalling Miguel Estrada's nomination, while they search in vain for a reason to reject him," Bush said.

The Democrats' delay of his and other nominations to federal courts "endanger American justice," he contended.

Republicans have accused Democrats of treating him unfairly because he is a conservative Hispanic. The GOP has the 51 Senate votes needed to confirm him, but not the 60 needed to stop a filibuster.

Estrada was first nominated in May 2001, but the nomination did not move to the Senate floor until Republicans took control in January.

"That's almost two years, and that's a disgrace," Bush said.

Estrada came to the United States from Honduras as a teenager and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1986. He has practiced constitutional law, argued 15 cases before the Supreme Court and is a member of the law firm that represented Bush in his successful Supreme Court fight for the presidency.

While they have refused to allow a quick vote, Democrats have not yet tried a traditional filibuster on Estrada, although they say they will if necessary. That means lawmakers take over the Senate floor and refuse to allow the chamber to move on to other business until they get their way.

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