The American Bar Association rated one of President Bush's judicial nominees "not qualified" Wednesday, prompting a call from a liberal group for the president to withdraw the Mississippi lawyer's nomination. A panel of the nation's largest lawyers group voted unanimously to give its lowest rating to Michael Wallace, Bush's nominee for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Wallace, 54, had been special counsel to then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi during the impeachment trial of President Clinton in 1999. He also worked for Lott in the 1980s after serving as a law clerk to then-Associate Supreme Court Justice William H. Rehnquist.
The White House immediately disagreed with the ABA and rejected its rating.
"Mike Wallace is a well-respected attorney with extensive experience in constitutional and commercial law," said White House spokeswoman Erin Healy. "He has had an outstanding record and will make an excellent addition to the bench."
Wallace has never served as a judge. If confirmed to the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit, he would handle appeals from federal courts in Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana.
"Wallace is the first appeals court nominee in 25 years to receive a unanimous 'not qualified' rating from the ABA, said Ralph Neas, president of the liberal group People For the American Way. "The president should immediately withdraw his nomination."