This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - More than a year after he was first nominated, Brigham Young University's general counsel, Thomas Griffith, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, regarded as the nation's second-most powerful court.
Senators voted 73-24 to confirm Griffith, who served as counsel to the U.S. Senate during the impeachment trial of President Clinton.
"Tom Griffith will be an outstanding addition to this important court," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, one of Griffith's strongest supporters. "He's a top-notch attorney who has distinguished himself as one of the best legal minds in the country."
President Bush lauded the confirmation vote, commending the Senate and pushing for more "up and down" votes on his judicial nominees.
"Tom is an accomplished and experienced lawyer who will bring a broad range of legal experience to the court," Bush said.
Griffith's first nomination to the court was dealt a blow when Democrats and other groups complained that Griffith had allowed his bar license to lapse in the District of Columbia and had been serving as BYU's counsel without a Utah bar license. Bush renominated Griffith in February.
Ralph Neas, People for the American Way president, objected to the confirmation.
"Thomas Griffith's record simply did not merit confirmation to the Court of Appeals," he said.
Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, called the vote a "blow to civil rights."
"One would think that this moral and ethical failing would be enough to keep him from a lifetime appointment to the second-most-important court in the nation," Henderson said, referring to the bar licenses. "But in this new era of partisan posturing, it seems that even the most egregious nominees can be assured of confirmation."
David Schippers, chief counsel to the House managers during the impeachment trial, could not disagree more.
"If you put a picture of the judicial-type person in my mind, it would be him," Schippers said. "The fact that he's got the legal ability is no question, but the integrity, the honor, his courtesy and good humor makes me think he's got what it takes to be a good judge."
Griffith will take the seat that the Bush administration originally wanted for nominee Miguel Estrada. But Estrada dropped out in September 2003 after being blocked by Democrats.
Griffith had not been foremost in the recent bickering over filibustering judicial nominees, though Janice Rogers Brown, one of the more controversial picks, was confirmed to the D.C. Appeals Court last week. Seven of the 11 judges on the court have been nominated by Republican presidents.
---
Salt Lake Tribune reporter Robert Gehrke contributed to this story.
New federal judge
* Born: July 5, 1954, Yokohama, Japan
* Education: Bachelor's degree, Brigham Young University, 1978; law degree, University of Virginia
* Experience: 1985-95, private practice; 1995-1999, legal counsel U.S. Senate; 1999-2000 private practice; 2000 to present, general counsel, Brigham Young University
* Personal: Married, six children