Ninth Circuit Nomination and Confirmation
Judge McKeown was nominated for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President Bill Clinton on March 29, 1996 and then renominated by Clinton on January 7, 1997. McKeown was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 27, 1998 by a vote of 80-11. She is currently duty stationed in San Diego, California. Judge McKeown is on the Board of the Federal Judges Association.
On September 6, 2007, Judge Margaret McKeown penned a judgment (for a three-judge panel) which affirmed a lower court ruling that banned display of the Sunrise Rock cross in the Preserve. She ruled that it was an impermissible governmental endorsement of religion: the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution bars the government from favoring any one religion, as it specifically applied to a white metal Latin cross in the Mojave National Preserve in southern California between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The United States Supreme Court has granted writs to review this decision.
Read more about this topic: M. Margaret McKeown
Famous quotes containing the words ninth, circuit, nomination and/or confirmation:
““Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed” was the ninth beatitude.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“Within the circuit of this plodding life
There enter moments of an azure hue,
Untarnished fair as is the violet
Or anemone, when the spring strews them
By some meandering rivulet, which make
The best philosophy untrue that aims
But to console man for his grievances.
I have remembered when the winter came,”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The confirmation of Clarence Thomas, one of the most conservative voices to be added to the [Supreme] Court in recent memory, carries a sobering message for the African- American community.... As he begins to make his mark upon the lives of African Americans, we must acknowledge that his successful nomination is due in no small measure to the support he received from black Americans.”
—Kimberly Crenshaw (b. 1959)
“Trifles light as air
Are to the jealous confirmation strong
As proofs of holy writ.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)