New York, N.Y. - June 16, 2005 - National Urban League President Marc H. Morial said today that the Senate Judiciary Committee's vote in favor of Terrence Boyle for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals struck another terrible blow against civil rights and vowed to fight Boyle's confirmation on the Senate floor.

"We are deeply troubled that a narrow majority on the Judiciary Committee would vote to recommend this nomination to the full Senate, given Judge Boyle's horrendous record on civil rights," Morial said. "No reasonable person can have any confidence that Terrence Boyle will respect and uphold civil right laws that protect Americans from acts of discrimination, disenfranchisement, and racial intolerance,"

In a recent letter to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Morial noted that the National Urban League views federal judicial nominations as a fundamental civil rights issue for the African American community and the nation as a whole. The substantial and widespread impact the decisions of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals have upon the African American community make the Boyle nomination of particular concern to the National Urban League.

"Judge Boyle's decisions during his years on the district court display an astonishing disregard for civil and individual rights and lack of respect for judicial precedent," Morial said. "His repeated failure to follow the law and his history of curtailing civil rights protections shows that he is significantly out of step with mainstream American jurisprudence and makes him the wrong nominee at the wrong time for a lifetime appointment to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals."

As Judge Boyle's nomination heads to the Senate floor, Morial stressed that the National Urban League will strenuously work to keep Boyle from being confirmed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, noting that "a vote for Boyle is a vote against civil rights."

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