Van Hilleary Signs "FAIR JUDICIARY OATH"
Hilleary First 2006 Senate Candidate to Sign Oath

May 26, 2005

(WASHINGTON, DC) Rep. Van Hilleary, Republican candidate for United States Senate in Tennessee, has signed the "Fair Judiciary Oath." The Oath calls for a "fair and simple up-or-down vote for all nominees duly nominated by the President of the United States and reported favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee."

"One of the most important duties of an elected United States Senator is the review and confirmation of federal judges, said Kay Daly, president of the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary. "After observing the slow, painful deterioration of the judicial nominations process, it is readily apparent that a vocal minority is determined to obstruct the President's judicial nominees at all costs. In fact, for the first time in history, the filibuster has been deployed to grind several nominations to a halt. To that end, voters need to know what they can expect of their elected Senators once they reach those venerable chambers. Congressman Hilleary, by signing the Fair Judiciary Oath, has spoken loud and clear."

Last year, the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary posted a copy of the Fair Judiciary Oath online after a general election in which several successful Senate candidates signed the Oath. As more Senate candidates declare, CFJ will ask them to show their commitment by signing the Oath. Rep. Hilleary is the first Senate candidate in the 2006 cycle to participate in the Oath project.

Numerous polls indicate a solid majority of Americans, in both the red and the blue states, believe that the filibuster applied to judicial nominations is unfair and that nominees deserve a simple up-or-down vote.

"Men and women of outstanding character and experience, nominated by their President to serve on the federal bench, have been held in a nominations process akin to purgatory because of an ideological litmus test imposed by those who seek to hijack the federal courts for their own extreme agenda," said Daly.

The Coalition for a Fair Judiciary has conferred upon Rep. Van Hilleary a "Friend of the Constitution" designation for signing the Fair Judiciary Oath.

"With the virtual certainty that a vacancy will occur on the United States Supreme Court in the next few months, the importance of this issue, and these candidates opinion on it, is of great interest," said Daly. "Clearly, Congressman Hilleary understands that significance and like most Americans, would like to see fairness return to the process."


The Coalition for a Fair Judiciary (www.fairjudiciary.com) is a 501(C)4 organization comprised of more than 75 grassroots organizations dedicated to supporting qualified, capable federal judicial nominees who are committed to fair and accurate interpretation of existing law. The Coalition focuses on all federal judicial nominees, including nominees to the Court of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, and the Supreme Court