From Sierra Club, posted by Jane Clark

               HELP STOP THE  COURT-PACKING PLAN!
          MAKE A SPECIAL TOLL-FREE CALL ON THURSDAY

The New York Times recently editorialized, "the courts may be the last best
hope for stopping the administration's assault on the environment."  But
this depends entirely on federal judges who will enforce the laws that
protect clean air, clean water, public health, and natural resources. Now,
President Bush is attempting to pack our nation's court system with judges
who will side with corporations and Big Business at the expense of
environmental protection, worker's rights and civil rights. His allies in
the Senate leadership are trying to rush through the approval of lifetime
appointments for these judges before the public has a chance to review the
facts.  Every week, more extreme right-wing nominees are being brought up
for hearings and votes, and if the Bush plan is successful, all our
environmental laws are in grave danger!  Two important votes are set to
happen in the next few days.

You can help by calling your senators this Thursday, Feb. 27 and asking
them to stop the court packing plan.  A special call-in day and number has
been set up for citizens to call the senate and make a difference.  If we
all participate, we can flood senate offices with calls in favor of a
balanced and fair court system.

Please call senators toll-free 1-888/508-2974 on Thursday and ask for your
senator's office.  Call BOTH your senators and ask them to vote NO on
Estrada (Ess-trah-dah) and NO on Sutton. Ask them to protect our
environment and our courts by voting NO on Estrada and NO on Sutton.
Thank you!

                          BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Miguel Estrada:  Democrats are currently filibustering his nomination on
the Senate floor because Mr. Estrada has absolutely no experience as a
judge and he refuses to answer questions about his views on legal issues.
To make matters worse, the Administration refuses to release his writings
from his tenure at Department of Justice.  President Bush has nominated
Estrada for a LIFETIME appointment to the federal court of appeals that
almost always makes the final decisions on major federal cases, including
environmental protection laws like clean air, clean water and wildlife
protection.  Until he answers questions on his views on landmark
environmental, civil rights and worker protection laws, he should not be
confirmed.

Jeffrey Sutton has been nominated for a lifetime appointment to the sixth
circuit court, a crucial court that decides the fate of federal
environmental safeguards in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.  Mr.
Sutton has vigorously advocated against federal authority to prevent
destruction of waters and wetlands that serve as critical habitat for
migratory birds; against private actions for victims of environmental
injustice; and against attorneys' fees for successful environmental
plaintiffs.

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