By Nelson A. King
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) last week called on the U.S. Senate to reject the nomination of Andrew Oldham for the Fifth Circuit Court bench on discrimination grounds.
The CBC — led by chairman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-02), CBC Judicial Nominations Task Force Chair, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and CBC Texas delegation members Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), and Mark Veasey (D-TX) — rejected Oldham’s nomination to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit because of a history of alleged discriminatory practices and remarks.
The members wrote that Oldham “has devoted much of his career to challenging legal protections that help ensure minorities’ access to employment, voting rights, public housing, and even integrated education.”
His nomination was expected to be considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
In their letter, the members highlighted several instances during Oldham’s career when he sought to curtail the legal protections afforded to minorities.
CBC said that as Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Texas, Oldham “co-authored an amicus brief to the Supreme Court supporting positions that eviscerate important protections of the Voting Rights Act.”
CBC said Oldham also “argued for policies that would have perpetuated segregation of minority communities.”
During his confirmation hearing, CBC said Oldham refused to say whether the seminal case of Brown v. Board of Education was correctly decided.
