With the senate confirmation hearings behind us on Michael McConnell (for the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals) and Miguel Estrada (for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals), the new battle may well be over Dennis Shedd, a nominee for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a passionate op-ed article in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Rev. Joseph Lowery argues that seating Shedd would be a setback for civil rights.

"The civil rights stakes could not be higher with the Shedd nomination. Home to more African-Americans than any other circuit, the 4th Circuit has led the conservative counterrevolution with its narrow interpretations of civil rights laws and, even worse, its wholesale invalidation of federal legislation in the name of "states' rights."

"For victims of discrimination, for innocent defendants, and for persons wrongly sentenced to death, the prospect of receiving justice before this court has become bleak...."

Despite its large African-American population, until 2 years ago, when President Clinton finally succeeded in desegregating it with a recess appointment, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals was all-white--in fact it was the last all-white appeals court in the country.

Lowery says Bush needs Shedd, who is white and a former aide to Strom Thurmond, to regain "complete ideological control" over Fourth Circuit decisions. Shedd takes a narrow view of civil rights and believes strongly in state's rights over the power of Congress. Lowery says we should all be watching when the Judiciary Committee takes up Mr. Shedd. We agree.