[Mar 12, 2007]
Some prominent conservatives have criticized former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's (R) judicial appointments and have said his record undermines his promise that he would appoint "strict constructionists" to the Supreme Court if elected president, the Los Angeles Times reports (Hamburger/Schreck, Los Angeles Times, 3/12). Giuliani, who has formed a presidential exploratory committee, supports abortion rights. Giuliani in recent talks with conservative media outlets and voters in South Carolina said he would appoint "strict constructionist" judges to the Supreme Court. In a recent interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News, he also said that a law (S 3) being reviewed by the Supreme Court that bans so-called "partial-birth abortion" should be upheld and that he supports parental notification requirements with a judicial bypass provision for minors seeking abortions (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/5). In his eight years as mayor, Giuliani appointed or reappointed 127 municipal judges -- who preside over family courts, criminal misdemeanor cases and civil claims of less than $25,000 -- the Times reports. Connie Mackey, vice president of the Family Research Council's political and legislative division FRC action, said Giuliani's appointments "were mostly liberal," adding, "Any pro-lifer who believes they are going to get the kind of judge out of Rudy Giuliani that we see in either [Supreme Court Chief Justice John] Roberts or [Supreme Court Justice Samuel] Alito is probably going to be disappointed." Some constitutional law experts disagree with Mackey's conclusion, the Times reports. Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University, called it "nonsense" to cite municipal judges as an indication of how a candidate might appoint Supreme Court justices. He added that Giuliani as mayor was "guided by concerns of competence" when making judicial appointments (Los Angeles Times, 3/12).
New York Times Examines Romney Contributions to Conservative Groups
Contributions made by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) to several "conservative groups" in the months preceding his announcement that he is running for the Republican presidential nomination might "create the appearance of a conflict of interest for groups often asked to evaluate him," the New York Times reports. According to the New York Times, a foundation controlled by Romney in December 2006 made contributions of $10,000 to $15,000 to organizations associated with major national conservative groups, including Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Massachusetts Citizens for Limited Taxation and the Massachusetts Family Institute. Romney has contributed $35,000 in the last two years to the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group, and he contributed $25,000 to the conservative Heritage Foundation in December 2005. He and a group of his supporters also contributed about $10,000 to a not-for-profit group affiliated with National Review. All the groups have said Romney had never contributed before, and his public tax filings show no previous gifts to similar groups. According to the New York Times, the support of leading conservative organizations in Massachusetts has become important to Romney's campaign due to doubts from some conservatives over his past support for abortion rights. Romney's contributions demonstrate his convictions, his spokesperson, Kevin Madden, said, adding, "He has donated his time and his effort and whatever resources he can to help advance their causes" (Kirkpatrick, New York Times, 3/11). According to the Los Angeles Times, Romney has spent more "time and energy" addressing his position on abortion rights than any other presidential candidate (Hook, Los Angeles Times, 3/11). Romney's foundation's 2006 contributions will become public with its tax filings later this year (New York Times, 3/11).
