National Law Enforcement Groups Back Holder Nomination

WASHINGTON (Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008) – A wide range of national law enforcement organizations have endorsed Eric Holder’s nomination to be the next Attorney General of the United States, urging the Senate to confirm Holder to the nation’s top law enforcement post.  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Wednesday released nearly a dozen additional letters endorsing the nomination, including letters from the National Sheriffs’ Association and National Troopers Association.  Leahy also released letters in support of Holder’s nomination from the National Narcotics Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys and the United States Conference of Mayors.

On Dec. 22, Leahy previously released letters from more than 50 law enforcement, crime victims and civil rights organizations, and former Republican officials.  The letters are available online.

A strong endorsement from the National Sheriffs’ Association highlights Holder’s “outstanding record of public service in his role as a federal prosecutor, a trial judge, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and the Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Justice.”  The Association expressed its “strong support for the nomination of Eric Holder to be the Attorney General of the United States.  We urge you to confirm his nomination without delay.”

The National Troopers Coalition also urged Holder’s “speedy confirmation to the office of Attorney General.”  The endorsement says “Attorney General nominee Holder presents a distinguished career as a prosecutor, Superior Court Justice and Deputy Attorney General.  This unmatched experience will prove to be invaluable in directing our law enforcement efforts at this difficult time in history.”

Other organizations joining the growing list of groups supporting Holder’s nomination include the National Bar Association, National Black Prosecutors Association, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Anti-Defamation League, the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, Motorola and Asa Hutchinson, a former U.S. attorney, Republican member of Congress and Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security at the Department of Homeland Security.

“The support across the spectrum of law enforcement organizations, including those from our rural areas, demonstrates the recognition that we need new leadership at the Justice Department without delay,” said Leahy.

Holder’s nomination will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 15, 2009, at 9:30 a.m.  On Dec. 1, President-elect Obama announced his intent to nominate Holder, a former Deputy Attorney General, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and a former judge for the D.C. Superior Court appointed by President Reagan.  Holder’s completed Committee questionnaire and supplemental materials submitted on Dec. 19 are available online.  The hearing will be webcast live on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s website. 

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Letters of Support

Law Enforcement

• National Sheriffs’ Association

• National Troopers Coalition

• National District Attorney’s Association

• National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys

• The United States Conference of Mayors

• National Black Prosecutors Association

• National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO)

• Police Executive Research Forum (PERF)

• International Association of Chiefs of Police

• National Narcotics Officers’ Associations’ Coalition

• National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys

• James B. Comey, former Deputy Attorney General, Dec. 2003-Aug. 2005

• John P. Sarcone, Polk County Attorney, Iowa

• Asa Hutchinson, former Congressman

 

Crime Victims 

• National Center for Victims of Crime

• Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

• International Organization for Victim Assistance

• National Crime Victim/Survivor Assistance and Allied Organizations

• National Organization for Victim Assistance

• American Probation and Parole Association

• Appriss

• Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

• Illinois Victims

• Justice Solutions

• Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center

• National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center

• National Leadership Council for Crime Victim Justice

• The National Organization of Victims of “Juvenile Lifers”

• Partnership for Safety and Justice

• Security on Campus

• Anne K. Seymore, National Crime Victim Advocate

• Sharon J. English, Homicide Victim Survivor, Crime Victim Services Advocate

• Mario Thomas Gaboury, J.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Criminal Justice, University  of New Haven, Ct.

• Dan Levey, National President of Parents of Murdered Children (POMC), advisor for Victims to Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano

 

Civil Rights 

• Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

• Anti-Defamation League

• Asian American Justice Center

• National Council of La Raza

• National Council of Jewish Women

• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

• NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund

• Human Rights Campaign

• Southern Poverty Law Center

• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

• National Organization for Women

• National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice

• Mexican American Leal Defense and Educational Fund

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America

• Feminist Majority

• National Abortion Federation

• The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

• National Health Law Program

• National Fair Housing Alliance

• National Partnership for Women & Families

• National Urban League

• Center for Inquiry

• American for Democratic Action, Inc.

• People for the American Way

• Alliance for Justice

• American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

• Carla Hills, former Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division; former U.S Trade Representative

Other

• National Bar Association

• Motorola

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