March 10, 2014

Senate Refuses to Confirm Obama Justice Department Nominee 
By Frederick Lowe

debo
Debo Adegbile

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from TheNorthStarNews.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The United States Senate on Wednesday voted not to confirm Debo Adegbile as head of the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division because as part of his job he defended Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of the 1981 slaying of Daniel Faulkner, a Philadelphia police officer.

Republicans joined by seven Democrats voted down Adegbile's nomination 51 to 48 under pressure from police unions.

President Barack Obama, who nominated Adegbile for the job, called his defeat a "travesty based on wildly unfair character attacks against a good and qualified candidate."

Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, charged that Senate Republicans orchestrated a smear campaign against Adegible, who at one time was the organization's director of litigation, acting president and director-counsel and special counsel.

"Adegbile was attacked because the NAACP Legal Defense Fund became counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal during Adegbile's tenure," Ifill said. "The NAACP Legal Defense Fund's involvement in Mumia Abu-Jamal's case reflects its institutional commitment to ensuring that the criminal justice system is administered fairly and in compliance with the U.S. Constitution for all Americans, no matter how controversial."

Jamal, a former Philadelphia radio reporter, is serving a life sentence for his murder conviction.

Adegbile was only a child when Abu-Jamal was convicted, but during Adegbile's 12 years with NAACP LDF, he represented Adu-Jamal's during his appeals process. Adegbile helped research and write a legal brief asserting that the jury instructions during Abu-Jamal's sentencing were improper. A federal court agreed.

Republicans, however, argued that Adegbile was unfit to run the civil rights division.  

Mitch McConnell, the Senate's minority leader, accused Adegbile of "seeking to glorify an unrepentant cop killer." U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) wanted to know if Adegbile could apply the law in an even-handed manner.

Ifill noted that many public servants, including U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, have provided pro bono time to represent a death-row inmate. Roberts represented John Ferguson, who was convicted of killing eight people.

John Adams represented in the 1770s a British soldier involved in the Boston Massacre. Adams was later elected president.

"Mr. Adegbile and the American people deserve better than the Senate delivered today," said Marcia Fudge, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. "I am extremely disappointed in today's Senate vote that denied this country
a public servant who has a personal and professional commitment to protecting the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans."

An angry President Obama lashed out at the Senate.
"As a lawyer, Mr. Adegbile has played by the rules. And now Washington politics have used the rules against him. The fact that his nomination was defeated solely based on his legal representation of a defendant runs contrary to a fundamental principle of our system of justice--and those who voted against his nomination denied the American people an outstanding public servant," President Obama said.

Adegbile, who is half Nigerian and Irish, was raised by a single mother in New York City. The family was nearly homeless at one time.