"The Senate Judiciary Committee took the right step today in rejecting the nomination of Judge Charles Pickering Sr. to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge Pickering's views on privacy, on a woman's right to choose abortion, and on civil rights were extreme. His past support of overturning Roe v. Wade and of a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion put him outside the mainstream of American opinion.

"Were Judge Pickering to serve on the court of appeals, he would be part of a body that is the last word on the overwhelming number of cases that are appealed from federal district courts in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The Supreme Court receives about 7,000 appeals annually from all circuits and agrees to hear less than 100.

"The defeat of this nomination should send a signal to the White House that nominees outside the mainstream will meet stiff resistance in the Senate and among Americans generally. These important lifetime appointments need not be highly controversial. Bipartisan consultation between the White House and the Senate would go a long way toward expediting the process of filling judicial vacancies with the best qualified candidates."