30 Senators Vote Against Controversial Holmes Nomination

By a 67-30 vote the Senate yesterday confirmed Jerome A. Holmes to a seat on the 10th Circuit, despite the strong opposition of Democratic leaders who were troubled by Holmes’ public comments on affirmative action, the death penalty and racial bias on juries. In a statement on the nomination, Senator Leahy pointed to Holmes’ repeated criticisms of those who dared to complain about racial discrimination: “Mr. Holmes’ comments belittling those concerned with the persistence of race-based barriers in this country leave me with little assurance that he has the ability to maintain objectivity when applying constitutional and statutory remedies for race discrimination and concerned that he will not have an open and fair mind as a judge.” Check out AFJ’s report on Holmes here. For a full accounting of how the senators voted on the nomination, link here.