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Friday, 17 June 2005 |
Zogby Poll on Business Leaders Released
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| L-r: Roderick Hills, James Wynn, Jr., Michael O'Neill, Norman Ornstein, Charles Fried, Charles Kolb (behind podium), and Derek Bok |
CED hosted a June 17, 2005 breakfast forum that featured a bipartisan discussion on judicial nominations by a distinguished panel of legal experts. The event, held at the National Press Club and covered by C-Span, was highlighted by the release of new polling results from a CED-commissioned poll conducted by Zogby International. The poll centered on business leaders' views of the judicial nomination process and the recent showdown in the United States Senate over nominations and the use of the filibuster.
The forum was hosted by Trustees Derek Bok and Roderick Hills, the co-chairs of CED's Judicial Selection Sub-Committee. John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International, was on hand to release the business Poll and a distinguished, bipartisan panel was on hand to discuss the poll results. The panel, which was moderated by CED President Charles Kolb included:
- Charles Fried: Professor, Harvard Law School; former Associate Justice, Massachusetts Supreme Court; and former United States' Solicitor General
- Norman Ornstein: Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
- Michael O'Neill: Chief Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee
- James Wynn, Jr.: Justice, North Carolina Court of Appeals; former judicial nominee of President Clinton
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| John Zogby, President and CEO, Zogby International presented the findings of the CED poll. |
Derek Bok, CED Trustee, National Chairman of Common Cause, and President Emeritus of Harvard University opened the event with a speech about the increasing partisan pressures of the federal nominating process, warning that the federal nomination battles are becoming like the state judicial elections, with increasing costs, partisanship, and distortions, and less civility and legitimacy.
Following Dr. Bok, Roderick Hills, CED Trustee, Chairman, Hills & Stern, LLP, and former Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission, discussed the evolving roll of business in Judicial nominations, describing how businesses, plaintiffs attorneys and unions have long been waged in defensive warfare in state courts, funneling more and more money into those elections. He called on each side to stand down at the federal level and asked for voices of moderation on both sides to step away from the campaign style pressure tactics that both sides are beginning to implement.
John Zogby was on hand to release the new survey results in The Attitudes and Opinions of U.S. Business Leaders on the Bi-Partisan Filibuster Compromise and the Relationship Between Business and Social-Advocacy Groups. To view his power point presentation, please click here.
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