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William Myers, Fall Guy?

By Jeralyn, Section Judiciary
Posted on Tue May 24, 2005 at 10:09:33 AM EST
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William Myers and Henry Saad are the "fall guys" in the New Senate compromise. Unlike Owen, Rogers Brown and Pryor, they may or may not receive up or down votes. The Denver Post describes William Myers today as:

Myers has no judicial experience, nor has he ever tried a case before a jury. In a two-year stint as Interior's solicitor, Myers wrote just two formal opinions and - though cleared of legal wrongdoing - was the subject of three ethics investigations by the department. The American Bar Association gave the Boise, Idaho, resident its lowest passing rating as a nominee.

Some of Myers' actions as Interior solicitor indicate that he may have found it difficult to divorce himself from his years as an advocate of industry.

He is opposed most by environmentalists.

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    William Myers, Fall Guy? | 5 comments (5 topical)
    Re: William Myers, Fall Guy? (none / 0) (#5)
    by Aaron on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:54:18 PM EST
    William G. Myers III is a lobbyist, bought and paid for, pure and simple. He had a job as an administrator for awhile, but that doesn't make anyone qualified to be a judge of anything. His nomination mirrors Clarence Thomas's in that he worked a job in which it was his mandate to set about dismantling a government agency that provided assistance to citizens of this country who've been wronged in the workplace. In fact Thomas gutted the EEOC while he was in charge, with some of the lowest enforcement and investigative numbers on record. And then he became a Supreme Court justice -- only in America. Interesting that he was accused of workplace misconduct during his confirmation hearings, it has a sick kind of symmetry. In comparison Myers's job was to dismantle and circumvent environmental laws in the West wherever possible. He made tens of millions working for mining and ranching concerns. His appointment would be tantamount to putting the fox in charge of the hen house. If he is confirmed, enforcement of environmental laws under the Ninth Circuit will be in jeopardy. The right likes to refers to the founding fathers often in their arguments, I wonder what Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin would say about an administration that puts forward a lobbyist (someone paid to to be totally biased) as a judge on one of the highest courts in the land.

    Re: William Myers, Fall Guy? (none / 0) (#1)
    by roger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:55:44 PM EST
    With this lack of experience, how can the ABA give him any kind of positive rating? ABA= All Bull, All the time

    Re: William Myers, Fall Guy? (none / 0) (#2)
    by aw on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:55:44 PM EST
    He is opposed most by environmentalists. That's why Bush/Rove chose him, of course.

    Re: William Myers, Fall Guy? (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:55:44 PM EST
    maybe Salazar can support him! :-) [/snark]

    Re: William Myers, Fall Guy? (none / 0) (#4)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:55:45 PM EST
    Myers is another Bush gift to his extractive industry backers. You can read more about him at the League of Conservation Voters website:
    Unlike most judicial nominees, Myers has never been a judge. Instead, his qualifications include decades as a paid lobbyist and lawyer to the coal and cattle industries. In his recent position as the Bush Interior Department's chief attorney, Myers tried to give away valuable federal lands to a mining company and imperiled Native American sacred sites. "His nomination is the epitome of the anti-environmental tilt of so many of President Bush's nominees," says Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
    William Myers, Fall Guy? | 5 comments (5 topical)