Obama nominates former Bush nominee to federal appeals court

[usregimechange]

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
January 26, 2011
President Obama Nominates Judge Henry F. Floyd for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama nominated Judge Henry F. Floyd for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/26/president-obama-nominates-judge-henry-f-floyd-united-states-court-appeal


He was nominated by George W. Bush on May 15, 2003.

http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=3030&cid=999&ctype=na&instate=na


Details on this nomination will be posted here, check my journal tonight.

[Bluebear]

1. yay!

[ixion]

2. On all the major issues, this is a 3rd Bush Term..

:argh:

[somone]

3. There are no qualified Democrats for the job?

[kestrel91316]

4. The only qualification is that one lean right, so apparently not.

[Bluebear]

6. +

[ProSense]

5. Judge Says Terror Suspect Can't Be Held as an Enemy Combatant

Judge Says Terror Suspect Can't Be Held as an Enemy Combatant

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 - A federal district judge in South Carolina ruled Monday that President Bush had greatly overstepped his authority by detaining an American citizen as an enemy combatant for nearly three years without filing criminal charges.

The judge, Henry F. Floyd, ruled that the government must release the American, Jose Padilla, within 45 days from the military brig in Charleston, S.C., where he has been held since June 2002. That left the Bush administration time to appeal, and a Justice Department spokesman, John Nowacki, said officials immediately decided to do so.

In his opinion, Judge Floyd sharply criticized the administration's use of the enemy combatant designation in Mr. Padilla's case.

"The court finds that the president has no power, neither express nor implied, neither constitutional nor statutory, to hold petitioner as an enemy combatant," Judge Floyd wrote.

<...>

"To do otherwise would not only offend the rule of law and violate this country's constitutional tradition," Judge Floyd wrote, "but it would also be a betrayal of this nation's commitment to the separation of powers that safeguards our democratic values and individual liberties."

<...>

[northoftheborder]

7. From this opinion, I think this is positive appointment. More about him?

[usregimechange]

8. I will incorporate this into my post tonight and credit you, thanks, good find

[Tx4obama]

12. Here's a more info about him.

http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2011/01/-obama-nominates-judge-henry-floyd-who-ruled-in-jose-padilla-case.html

[annabanana]

11. Thank you for posting this before everyone goes totally off the deep end. . .n/t

[pnorman]

18. I sorta thought there was something like that in the background!

Thanks!

I don't know about all the others here, but I voted for a President of the USA, rather than a Party Chairman.

[BzaDem]

9. He was actually a Democratic state legislator in the 70s. One thing to keep in mind with district

court appointments is that sometimes they are picked at the recommendation of Senators. For example, Sonia Sotomayor was appointed as a district court judge by GHW Bush, since she was recommended by Pat Moynihan. Obviously she was no conservative, but GHWB appointed her anyway due to her recommendation from her home-state senator.

I'm not saying this was necessarily the case here -- I'm just saying that the president who appoints a district court judge does not always signal their ideology/judicial philosophy. (Though of course it often does -- just unclear whether that is the case here.)

[longwinded]

20. South Carolina party affiliation in the 1970s

The fact that Floyd was a Democrat in the 1970s tells us nothing about his politics today. Everybody involved in South Carolina politics in the 1970s was a Democrat, almost literally. Check out party breakdown in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina_House_of_Representatives">South Carolina House of Representatives. When Floyd was elected in 1972, he was one of 117 Democrats, compared to only 17 Republicans.

[Tx4obama]

10. Also, SIX U.S. district judges nominated today :)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/26/presidential-nominations-sent-senate-0

[Proud Liberal Dem]

13. Some people seem to reflexively expect the worst from President Obama

every single minute of every single day. Heck, he can even pledge not to do something and there are still some people who think that he didn't just say what everybody else heard him say and that really he is employing some kind of "machiavellian" strategy to do the opposite (bad things). And they're usually the ones scoffing at the whole "chess playing" idea. He's not a raging liberal, he's not perfect and, no, he hasn't delivered on everything that he's promised but geez, do people have to ascribe horrible motives for what he does (or in some, cases, doesn't do)?

[sufrommich]

16. Yes, I've noticed that too. nt

[rpannier]

19. From the Subject line I had my doubts

It read former nominee, which usually means he failed to get nominated.
So I wondered why
It turned out he was confirmed

[ElsewheresDaughter]

14. hangs and shakes head

[Safetykitten]

15. Another episode of "Chessmasters!" Tonight, "Teh Changeling"

[Cerridwen]

17. "DIA Official Submits Hearsay Evidence against Al-Marri"

April 5, 2006: DIA Official Submits Hearsay Evidence against Al-Marri


Jeffrey Rapp, the director of the Joint Intelligence Task Force for Combating Terrorism at the Defense Intelligence Agency, provides a 16-page document supporting the government’s declaration that Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri is an enemy combatant (see December 12, 2001). Rapp gives the classified document, originally prepared in September 2004 and partially declassified for the court, to the trial judge presiding over the case, Henry Floyd (see April 6, 2006). The document, informally known as the “Rapp Declarations,” makes an array of charges against al-Marri, including alleging that he “met personally” with Osama bin Laden and was sent to the US to “explore computer-hacking methods to disrupt bank records and the US financial system.” Rapp claims that al-Marri was trained in the use of poisons and had detailed information about poisonous chemicals on his laptop computer, a claim verified by an FBI search. Additionally, Rapp says that al-Qaeda “instructed al-Marri to explore possibilities for hacking into the mainframe computers of banks with the objective of wreaking havoc on US banking records.” Rapp also says that al-Marri’s computer was loaded with “numerous computer programs typically utilized by computer hackers; ‘proxy’ computer software which can be utilized to hide a user’s origin or identity when connected to the Internet; and bookmarked lists of favorite Web sites apparently devoted to computer hacking.” Rapp refuses to cite any sources other than “specific intelligence sources” that are “highly classified.” {JEFFREY M. RAPP, 9/9/2004 ; CNET NEWS, 9/22/2006} While this kind of evidence is routinely dismissed as hearsay evidence inadmissible in court, Floyd rules that because the Supreme Court ruled in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld that hearsay evidence can be used against alleged enemy combatants (see June 28, 2004), the “Rapp Declarations” would be considered. Floyd says that al-Marri’s lawyers will have to provide “more persuasive evidence” that counters the government’s case—a reversal of the usual burden of proof that places the responsibility of proving guilt on the prosecution and not the defense. {CNET NEWS, 9/22/2006} link CNET link

On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, Floyd was nominated by President George W. Bush on May 15, 2003 to a seat vacated by Dennis Shedd. Floyd was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 22, 2003 on a senate vote and received commission on September 24, 2003. link