Overview of Justice Priscilla Owen's Record Nominee to the U.S. Court

Overview of Justice Priscilla Owen’s Record Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The National Partnership for Women & Families strongly opposes the nomination of Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Justice Owen, whose nomination previously was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, has demonstrated a troubling pattern of hostility toward reproductive rights, civil rights, worker rights, and plaintiffs while on the Texas Supreme Court. Her elevation to the Fifth Circuit would put many of these critical rights and protections at risk. We urge the United States Senate to reject Justice Owen’s nomination. Examples from Justice Owen’s Record: e Restricting Reproductive Rights. Justice Owen consistently has favored restricting or denying access to reproductive health care services, and her elevation to the Fifth Circuit would further deepen that court’s anti-choice bias. In a series of cases involving Texas’ parental consent law, she frequently went out of her way to avoid applying the law as intended. The law allows a judge to grant permission to a young woman seeking an abortion without parental consent under special circumstances, such as when necessary to avoid abusive situations. In one particularly disturbing example, Justice Owen trivialized a young woman’s assertion that her alcoholic father, who physically abused his wife, would physically or emotionally abuse her if he learned she was pregnant. Justice Owen’s attempts to legislate from the bench have even earned her reprimands from her judicial colleagues. Though he now claims that Owen is “superbly qualified,” Attorney General (then Texas Supreme Court Justice) Alberto Gonzales sharply criticized Owen and two other dissenters in 2000, claiming their opinions regarding judicial bypass of parental notification represented “an unconscionable act of judicial activism.” e Hostility to Worker’s Rights. Justice Owen is equally unsympathetic to claims brought by working individuals for injuries or discrimination suffered on the job. In one case, Justice Owen joined a dissenting opinion that would have made it more difficult for employees to prove discrimination. Although the statute at issue barred age as a basis for an employment decision, the dissent insisted that to be unlawful, age must be the sole basis of the employment decision. The majority rejected the dissent’s approach and instead concluded, consistent with the statute’s language, that age must only be a motivating factor in the adverse employment decision. e Lack of Respect for Jury Verdicts. Justice Owen too often has supported overturning jury verdicts and instead finding in favor of corporate interests. In a case brought by a family of five injured by a drunk driver, a majority of the Texas Supreme Court upheld the jury’s verdict against the owner of the convenience store which last sold alcohol to the driver. Justice Owen dissented, arguing it is unfair to make a provider of alcoholic beverages assume the risk that an obviously intoxicated patron might injure an innocent party and prove insolvent. But her arguments ignored the Texas legislature’s intent to hold such providers liable, and its mandate that the courts construe the law liberally to protect the public from drunk drivers and punish those businesses who serve them. CONCLUSION The National Partnership believes that Justice Priscilla Owen’s elevation to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals poses grave risks to rights and protections of critical importance to women. We urge the United States Senate to reject her nomination. 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW / Suite 650 / Washington, D.C. 20009 / 202.986.2600 / www.nationalpartnership.org .

Load more