Priscilla Owen - Fifth Circuit Nomination and Confirmation

Fifth Circuit Nomination and Confirmation

Owen was nominated on May 9, 2001 by President George W. Bush to fill a vacancy on the Fifth Circuit created by Judge William Lockhart Garwood, who had taken Senior status on January 23, 1997. Senate Democrats immediately decided to block her nomination for two reasons. First, the Democrats were angry that two previous nominees that President Clinton had nominated to Garwood's empty seat, Jorge Rangel and Enrique Moreno, were never given hearings by the U.S. Senate during Clinton's second term because the Senate was at the time controlled by Republicans. Second, they considered her to be too conservative. As a result, the Senate Democrats, who controlled the Senate Judiciary Committee during the 107th Congress did not let Owen's nomination come up for a vote. In 2003, after Republicans had taken the Senate back, Democrats filibustered her. Only in 2005, after Republicans picked up four more seats in the Senate during the 109th Congress was her nomination again considered.

Owen had considerable judicial experience as a member of the Texas Supreme Court, and had been rated "Well-Qualified" (highest possible) by the American Bar Association for the Fifth Circuit position. According to ABC News reporter Jan Crawford Greenburg, Senate Democrats strategically "targeted outspoken conservatives who were potential Supreme Court picks....their successes in filibustering women, Hispanics, and African Americans in 2003 undermined Bush's plans to replace with another woman or a minority." Supporters of the Owen nomination asserted that her criticized rulings were often near-unanimous, or simply followed federal precedents. Judge Owen was touted as a judicial conservative who would, in the words of President Bush, "interpret the law, not legislate from the bench."

Opponents, however, criticized her for what they claimed were her conservative positions on contentious social and economic issues, and pro-corporate decisions. Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy said that President Bush's appointee as Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, during his service with Owen on the Texas Supreme Court had frequently criticized Owen; Gonzales argued, said Kennedy, that one of Owen's positions taken in dissent would "judicially amend" a statute for the benefit of manufacturers selling defective products. On abortion, Owen was criticized by pro-choice groups for her interpretation of Texas's parental-notification law, and for joining a majority decision on overrides only once.

In May 2005 a compromise was arranged by a bipartisan group of moderate senators called the Gang of 14, which allowed for Owen to be finally given a full Senate vote. On May 24, 2005 debate on her nomination was ended by a vote of 81–18. She was finally confirmed by a vote of 55–43 on May 25, 2005 and was sworn in on June 6, 2005. Owen was the third judge nominated by Bush to the Fifth Circuit and confirmed by the United States Senate.