A Michigan judge
whose nomination to the federal bench is stalled over
her appearance at a lesbian commitment ceremony says she
attended as a friend, not to give legal sanction. The
nomination of Michigan court of appeals judge Janet T.
Neff to be a U.S. district court judge is on hold
because Republican senator Sam Brownback of Kansas is
not satisfied with her response to questions about her
views on same-sex marriage, a spokesman for the
senator said Thursday.
Neff's status has been in limbo since last
month, when Brownback placed his procedural hold,
using a technique that allows a lone senator to stall
a nomination. Brownback wanted to know whether there was
anything illegal or improper about the 2002 ceremony
in Massachusetts and how Neff's actions might shape
her judicial philosophy.
In an October 12 letter to Brownback that was
released by the Senate Judiciary Committee on
Thursday, Neff said a minister presided over the
ceremony, and she insisted her attendance would not affect
her ability to act fairly as a federal judge. ''The
ceremony, which was entirely private, took place in
Massachusetts, where I had no authority to act in any
official capacity and where, in any event, the ceremony had
no legal effect,'' Neff wrote.
She said her family had lived next door to one
of the women, Mary Curtin, for more than two decades
and considers Curtin part of the extended family.
''When Mary and her partner, Karen Adelman, asked me to
participate in their commitment ceremony by delivering a
homily, it was not different from being asked by my
own daughters to be part of an important event in
their lives,'' Neff wrote.
Neff declined to answer Brownback's questions on
whether the Constitution guarantees a right to
same-sex marriage or civil unions, saying it would be
improper to address questions that might come before her as
a federal judge.
''She did not really address the judicial
philosophy questions to his satisfaction,'' Brownback
spokesman Brian Hart said. He would not say what
Brownback planned to do next.
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen
Specter has declined Brownback's request to bring Neff
back for a second hearing, a committee spokeswoman
said Thursday. The committee has approved Neff's nomination,
which is pending before the full Senate.
Brownback, a vocal opponent of same-sex
marriage, has traveled to Michigan and other states
this year while he considers a presidential bid in
2008. Commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples usually are
symbolic and carry no legal rights. Massachusetts did
not recognize same-sex marriages in 2002 but legalized
such unions two years later after a ruling from
its highest court.
President Bush nominated Neff and two others to
fill three vacancies in Michigan as part of a
compromise this year with Michigan Democratic senators
Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. Neff has a liberal
reputation, while the other nominees are considered
conservatives. (Sam Hananel, AP)