The battle over Bush judicial nominee Michael McConnell for a position on the the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit is heating up.

At a press conference with leaders of national civil, constitutional and women's rights organizations, People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject McConnell's confirmation.

Neas released a PFAW report analyzing McConnell's legal philosophy on a range of civil and constitutional rights issues. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a Confirmation hearing for McConnell on Wednesday, September 18.

Neas and the assembled groups assert "McConnell's record makes clear that as a lifetime appointee to the federal bench he would pose a serious threat to constitutional rights and liberties.... McConnell is highly intelligent and well-liked by his academic colleagues, but his extreme legal philosophy on too many issues raises serious questions about his ability to be a fair and impartial judge and make him utterly inappropriate for the federal appeals court."