Bush appointe blocked form seat on civil rights commission

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge on Monday blocked President Bush's appointment of a conservative lawyer to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Commissioners serve six-year terms and Bush had no vacancy to fill, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler said.

The Justice Department had filed a lawsuit on Dec. 7 seeking to have Peter Kirsanow seated on the commission. The department said that a 2000 appointment by then-President Clinton had expired.

"The court has upheld the independence of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights," Commission Chairwoman Mary Frances Berry said. "If they can tell us what to do on one thing, they can tell us what to do on something else."

Attorney Robb Kellner, who represents Kirsanow, said he expects the Justice Department to quickly appeal the ruling.

Kirsanow, of Cleveland, was appointed to replace Victoria Wilson, an ally of Berry.

Berry and four other commissioners on the eight-member civil rights panel contend Wilson should serve a six-year term. The Bush administration and the three Republican-appointed commissioners say Wilson's term expired Nov. 29 at the end of the term of the commissioner she replaced -- the late Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr.

The case pitted the White House and Justice Department against Berry, who is often critical of the civil rights record of federal agencies and who was harshly critical of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's younger brother, for his handling of the 2000 presidential elections.

The Bush administration has said appointing Kirsanow is required by law and maintains a partisan balance that was intended by Congress when it set up procedures to replace commissioners.

The White House appointment of Kirsanow would shift the commission's makeup from a 5-3 split that generally favors Berry to a 4-4 split.

The commission has no enforcement power, but publicizes civil rights problems it perceives in government policy and government agencies.

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On The Net:

Commission on Civil Rights -- http://www.usccr.gov

Department of Justice -- http://www.usdoj.gov