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Stallings responds to Supreme Court appointment creating all-male bench

Contact:  Chuck Oxley   (208) 871-4976 (office)  

BOISE, Idaho – The following statement was released by state Democratic Party Chairman Richard Stallings today regarding the appointment of Boise Judge Joel Horton to the Idaho Supreme Court:

“Gov. Butch Otter’s decision to appoint Joel Horton to the state Supreme Court means Idaho will be served by a well-respected jurist. However, it also means that the only perspective on the state Supreme Court will that of white men over 50.

“I find it hard to believe that of all Idaho’s lawyers and judges, Otter’s Republican administration could not find room for even a single woman or minority. And as you can see by Horton’s reference to ‘Saint Phil’ in his comments to the Associated Press, the Republican Good- ‘Ole Boy network has again installed one of their own.

“The next important Idaho appointment – to replace Sen. Larry Craig – is expected to be handed down very soon. Yet of all the potential replacements, only one is a woman; the rest are middle-aged white male. It is extremely troubling that this perspective is the only one that seems to matter to Idaho’s Republican leaders.”