Florida senator, Marco Rubio, recently decided to withdraw support for a candidate nominated to be a Miami judge on the federal bench. Judge William Thomas, an African-American man who is also openly gay, has been ruled out of the nomination because Rubio has ceased to support his candidacy. This comes 10 months after being nominated by President Obama as well as being backed by Marco Rubio himself.
Rubio justifies his blocking by recognizing the fact that Judge Thomas made two controversial decisions in criminal cases. One being a somewhat light sentence for a man charged with a hit and run of a bicyclist. The perpetrator received 22.6 months of jail time despite the fact that he had been on drugs as well as drunk when it happened. The catch: he turned himself in the day after the incident, therefore any charge of drunk driving was ruled out. The second incident regarded Judge Thomas's decision to ignore a confession by five defendants that were charged with raping and shooting a woman to death. Reason being, the defendants were not properly told their Miranda rights or did not understand him. However, they were all ultimately convicted and sentenced.
It really makes me wonder why Rubio, after supporting him for 10 months, would randomly block Judge Thomas's nomination for federal judge.The article in which this information comes from does not disclose when Judge Thomas became openly gay, for that would give us an answer of whether or not Rubio made his decision simply because of his sexual orientation. The decisions the judge made, however, took place early this year so Rubio should've been well aware of them. Is Marco Rubio justified in this decision or is he basing his actions off of the fact that he is openly gay and/or black?
This issue can be related to our discussion on federalism because it is a prime example of the powers in which the state hold over local government (in this case, Florida senator over Miami judge). I am not in support for Rubio's ruling, for he has been a credible candidate for 10 months. The judge had the right to rule in any way he or she seems suitable (and they were indeed valid rulings), and that is all Judge Thomas did. It is unfortunate that Rubio made this decision; I hope the petition to get his nomination moving forward again passes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/us/politics/rubio-withdraws-support-for-gay-black-judges-nomination-to-the-federal-bench.html?ref=politics
I can certainly understand how it is difficult to depict what exactly Marco Rubio's justification was for revoking his support for Judge Thomas. However, with the facts that are presented, it is easy to see that there may be questionable doubt that one would have towards Judge Thomas and the decisions he makes regarding criminals and the justice system. Personally, if I solely looked at how Judge Thomas ruled in these cases, I too would most likely question his intent. I certainly do not feel that race played any factor in Rubio's decision to revoke his support, as at one point Rubio did support him, and Judge Thomas was black then, nothing there changed! As far as the argument that Rubio revoked his support due to Judge Thomas openly coming out as homosexual, it is hard to say if that was the reason. Today, it is very easy to use homosexuality as the reasoning to say "oh it is because he is gay that he does not support him." But, if I am just looking at the facts that this blog post provides, I conclude that Rubio revoked his support not because Judge Thomas is gay, but because he is a questionable judge.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Marco Rubio withdrawing his support for Judge Thomas and it isn't because I am racist or homophobic but because to be a judge on the federal bench one should be the best of the best and his questionable rulings show that he isn't. This story illustrates one of the problems in our society today, many people refuse to look at the actual reason things happen and would rather blame it on discrimination. In this case the argument is trying to be made that Marco Rubio withdrew his support for Judge Thomas because he is racist and/or homophobic. Even though the case can easily be made that Senator Rubio withdrew his support because of questionable legal decisions raising serious doubt about Judge Thomas' ability to serve on the Miami federal bench. This need to blame something on discrimination can be seen when people try to say it was based off of race when just last week he approved the nomination of another black Florida judge. Senator Rubio also received two different letters one from a prosecutor and one from an administrative judge expressing concern about Judge Thomas' willingness to handout punishments that fit the crime and even with the questioning of Judge Thomas' ability to do his job by other respected members of the bar people still refuse to believe that ability might be the only reason Marco Rubio withdrew his support.
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