Greater than 20 progressive organizations are launching a marketing campaign to attempt to sink considered one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, Jennifer Rearden, who they are saying has “labored towards the pursuits of traditionally oppressed members of our communities.”
Teams together with Dawn Motion, the Heart for Organic Range and New York Public Curiosity Analysis Group wrote to Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday urging them to oppose Rearden’s nomination to the U.S. District Court docket for the Southern District of New York. They famous that Rearden was beforehand nominated by President Donald Trump, and so they accused her of routinely placing company pursuits above on a regular basis individuals in her work as a accomplice on the worldwide regulation agency Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
“Rearden’s document litigating circumstances defending housing discrimination, in search of to overturn employee protections, and difficult improved entry to transportation for wheelchair customers makes her unsuitable for this appointment,” the teams stated.
They level to Rearden’s responses within the 2020 nomination questionnaire she submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee when she was nominated by Trump. In a single part, the place she was requested to checklist 10 necessary litigation issues, Rearden highlighted a case during which she represented a New York actual property firm towards allegations that it had discriminated towards tenants with HIV/AIDS. In one other part about her professional bono work, Rearden listed her assist for a constitution faculty group in overturning a state Division of Labor ruling that constitution faculties have been topic to “prevailing wage” necessities.
Rearden additionally represented Uber in a case difficult a rule requiring improved entry to transportation for wheelchair customers, the teams stated. That case resulted in a brand new rule during which the common estimated wait occasions for wheelchair-accessible automobiles for Lyft and Uber grew worse, “as much as 5 occasions longer than for inaccessible automobiles.”
“President Biden has dedicated to nominating judges that ‘signify the most effective of America’ and whose authorized experiences have been traditionally underrepresented on the federal bench, together with those that are public defenders, civil rights and authorized assist attorneys, and those that signify Individuals in each stroll of life,” the teams stated within the letter. “Primarily based on a assessment of her personal litigation document and her agency’s illustration of company pursuits versus the pursuits of on a regular basis Individuals, we imagine Rearden’s affirmation would accomplish the alternative of the president’s laudable aspiration.”
Right here’s a duplicate of their seven-page letter:
The progressive teams’ letter marks the primary time in Biden’s presidency when factions of his personal get together are attempting to tank considered one of his court docket picks. Biden has in any other case loved a clean affirmation course of for dozens of his judicial nominees. Lots of his judges are historic firsts, not solely when it comes to racial and gender demographics but in addition in skilled backgrounds. Progressive have largely hailed his judicial nominations to this point.
However one advocate related to the organizations that signed on to the letter stated Rearden crossed a line for them and they're ready to wage a full-blown marketing campaign towards her nomination, properly past the letter they despatched to Democrats on the Judiciary Committee.
“Teams [are] simply getting began,” this advocate stated in a Thursday electronic mail.
A spokesperson for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ailing.), chair of the Judiciary Committee, didn't reply to a request for touch upon the progressive teams’ issues about Rearden.
A White Home spokesperson didn't reply to a request for remark.
Rearden’s Senate affirmation listening to final Wednesday was carried out with little fanfare. The one pushback she bought was from Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who berated her and two different judicial nominees for declining to take the bait on a political query designed to elicit criticism of Democrats.
The committee has but scheduled to vote to advance her nomination to the Senate ground, which is more likely to occur within the subsequent week or two.
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