Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program and an advisor at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the Senate confirmed Joshua Divine to serve on the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri:

“Federal judges must be fair-minded and ethical, highly qualified, and committed to civil and human rights. The Senate’s confirmation of Joshua Divine to the federal bench in Missouri betrays these standards and instead installs into a lifetime judgeship an individual who does not possess the requisite experience to be a federal judge and who has time and time again demonstrated significant hostility to our civil and human rights. His limited legal career — which includes a record of intense opposition to reproductive rights, LGBTQ equality, student loan borrowers, and more — is disqualifying. Our courts, our communities, and our democracy deserve better. Senators must ensure that judicial nominees are fair-minded, actually qualified for the job, and faithful to the rule of law and Constitution rather than to an anti-civil rights agenda.”

Read The Leadership Conference’s letter in opposition to Joshua Divine’s confirmation here.

This post was originally published on Common Dreams.