The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) has written a letter to the Senate Judciary Committee opposing the nomination of Alabama Attorney General William Pryor to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

June 11, 2003--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Appeals 'crucial only for Monday-morning quarterbacks'

Comments lead criminal defense bar to oppose nomination of Alabama AG to federal bench

Washington D.C.—The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has voiced its opposition to the nomination of Alabama Attorney General William Pryor to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and ranking Democratic member Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), NACDL President Lawrence Goldman expressed concern that Pryor's stated views on the capital punishment system "bear directly on [his] ability to impartially consider direct and collateral appeals in death penalty cases."

For instance, according to the letter, Pryor, in response to the Judiciary Committee's follow-up questions after his testimony on the Innocence Protection Act, stated that appeals "are crucial only for Monday-morning quarterbacks who try to second-guess things and create issues that are probably not real in the first place."

The letter also cites Pryor's obliviousness to problems with Alabama's death penalty system, where more than one-fifth of defendants lack counsel for collateral review, and his disrespectful remarks directed at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The full text of the letter can be found here under News & Issues very shortly. People for the American Way has an extensive report on Pryor here. Pryor's confirmation hearing is set for Wednesday.