Lacking Requisite Judicial Temperament : Senate Judiciary Committee wisely rejects U.S. District Judge Ryskamp

Upon learning that the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday killed the nomination of U.S. District Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), a Ryskamp supporter noted, “It’s just a pity.”

Wrong. The real pity is that Ryskamp has been sitting as a Miami district judge since his appointment by Ronald Reagan in 1986.

Ryskamp has distinguished himself largely by the many appellate reversals of his decisions and by racist statements he made from the bench and during his confirmation hearings. In a 1987 trial, he spoke approvingly of a police dog attack on two black men who were never charged with any offense, saying that their scars might deter them from future crime. And in a case brought by a lawyer allegedly fired in part for calling the community where he worked “Colored Town,” Ryskamp said, “I can’t believe that people are so thin-skinned that the term ‘Colored Town’ is going to be highly offensive.”

The judge also drew fire because for 23 years he belonged to a Coral Gables country club despite its well-publicized refusal to admit Jewish or black members. Both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the American Bar Assn. oppose the membership of judges in clubs that discriminate based on race, sex, ethnicity or religion. Yet Ryskamp defended his membership--first by professing ignorance of the club’s practices and later by saying, “Club members just wanted a place where we didn’t have to hear Spanish.” Only a week before his confirmation hearings, as opposition to his elevation mounted, did Ryskamp resign from the club.

The Judiciary Committee’s 8-6 vote makes Ryskamp the first of President Bush’s 76 judicial nominees to be rejected by the Senate and only the fourth in the past decade.

Despite the defeat, Ryskamp nonetheless retains his district court seat. Yet the questions raised about the judge’s fitness for the bench remain. The Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges states that federal judges “should act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.” Similarly, the United States Code specifies that “any person alleging that a . . . district . . . judge . . . has engaged in conduct prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts” may complain to the chief judge of the circuit. That judge has the power to investigate the complaint and recommend action that can include censure or reprimand.

Another close look at Judge Ryskamp’s record is in order.