Sample Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor

Re: (name of article or editorial, author and date).

There has been much controversy about the nomination of John D. Ashcroft as Attorney General of the United States and I am disappointed by the misrepresentations that Senator Ashcroft and his supporters have made about his record on civil rights. The record stands very clear - at every opportunity - Mr. Ashcroft has opposed efforts to promote racial equality and protect Americans from the effects of unequal treatment and discrimination. He has opposed voluntary desegregation efforts, sponsored legislation to end affirmative action and has even opposed efforts to increase voter registration.

But concerns with Mr. Ashcroft's record do not stop there - he has used his powers as an elected official to implement and advance his own agenda which has sometimes flown in the face of established constitutional law and Supreme Court precedent. His extremism questions whether he can be an effective Attorney General for all Americans and whether he can legitimately go from being a staunch advocate to someone who will have to enforce positions with which that advocacy disagrees.

It is perfectly appropriate to raise these concerns, in fact, Ashcroft has raised them himself for executive nominees that came before the Judiciary Committee when he was a member of the Senate. The powers of the Attorney General are vast and that office and the Department of Justice have direct impact on the lives of every American. We must ensure that the person confirmed as the Attorney General will enforce and defend our nation's civil rights laws and promote equality and justice for all Americans. John Ashcroft is not that person.

back to John Ashcroft Action Alert

talking points

TO: Board of Directors and Trustees of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Local Affiliates and Friends of the Lawyers’ Committee

FROM: Barbara R. Arnwine, Thomas J. Henderson and Diane L. Gross

CALL SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TO OPPOSE CLASS ACTION FAIRNESS ACT

The Class Action Fairness Act of 2003 (“Class Action Act”) will be voted on by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. The Class Action Act is extremely problematic for the civil rights community because of its impact on federal civil rights class actions and the restrictions that it places on class action plaintiffs and settlements. It would also substantially alter the jurisdiction of federal and all state courts. If passed, this bill would: remove most state court, state-law class actions into federal court; clog the federal courts with state law cases and make it more difficult to have federal civil rights cases heard; deter people from bringing class actions; and impose costly and unjustified burdens on settlement of class actions.

The Lawyers’ Committee joins with many civil rights groups in opposing the Class Action Act because of its impact on the enforcement of our nation’s civil rights laws. The enforcement of civil rights laws is vital to ensure that victims of discrimination can obtain relief from unlawful practices. It is critical that this Act be stopped, otherwise new barriers will prevent victims of discrimination from achieving equal justice.

WHAT IS NEEDED?:
Contact Senate Judiciary members at (202)225-3121 -
tell them to oppose the Class Action Fairness Act, S. 274.

We urgently request that all of those concerned with preventing this damaging legislation from passing call members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Tell them that they should oppose the Class Action Fairness Act because:

1. This bill will amend federal law to allow corporate defendants and others to remove to federal court almost all state class actions. Our federal courts will be overloaded and the resolution of cases will be delayed, including a majority of civil rights claims as well as environmental, labor and other federal claims.
2. This bill will discourage individuals from bringing class actions by prohibiting named plaintiffs
   from receiving full relief for their claims. The bill prohibits courts from approving settlements that allow a greater share of relief to a class representative than all members of the class, making named plaintiffs sacrifice full relief as the price of trying to protect others.
3. Proponents of the legislation want to marginalize the role of some local juries and judges in deciding whether or not to hold businesses responsible – most of the areas proponents have identified as plaintiff-friendly "judicial hellholes" are counties where most of the citizens are black and Hispanic. Proponents express concern that juries composed of these citizens tend to decide cass based on “rhetoric and emotional appeals" rather than “focus[ing] on individual responsibility.”

TARGET SENATORS
Specter (R-PA)
Dewine(R-OH)
Feinstein(D-CA)
Kohl(D-WI)
Hatch(R-UT)
Schumer(D-NY)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT DIANE GROSS AT (202)662-8600 or dgross@lawyerscomm.org.

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