This afternoon, the Senate voted to filibuster the nomination of Debo P. Adegbile to be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Rarely has the United States Senate considered a nominee so perfectly qualified for the position for which the President chose him.
Adegbile is a lawyer of impeccable credentials with expertise in every facet of civil rights law. Unfortunately for him, however, he participated in the post-conviction stage of a criminal case in which the defendant had killed a police officer and was simply challenging the standards under which the death penalty was imposed. This is, of course, standard practice in criminal cases. But Adegbile’s involvement in the case was held up by demagogues as an automatic disqualifier, despite his extraordinary accomplishments as a lawyer. The demagogues carried the day, a very sad day for the United States of America.
Those of us who care about voting rights are especially disheartened. Adegbile would bring to the job a particularly stellar background in this area, including two Supreme Court arguments. But for now, the nation’s chief civil rights lawyer remains an open slot on the Justice Department’s roster. What a sad symbol for our country.