Orrin Hatch

This morning, after two previous failed attempts at promotion to the federal appeals court, Federal District Judge Terrence Boyle of North Carolina smelled the coffee, and ordered tea instead. He submitted a letter to George Bush asking that his nomination be withdrawn.

He was among the four judges considered so extreme in their views by the previous congress that their appointments failed to earn consideration. With a landslide Democratic victory in the last election it became obvious that this congress was not about to try what previous congresses had found impossible.

According to Ralph Neas, president of "People for The American Way," Terence Boyle is "a judicial disaster... and his rulings reflect a judicial philosophy that is very damaging to the rights of average Americans."