In society, there are a lot of judges and people of power who do not act fairly or consistently in line with their beliefs. Judge Pickering, however, was always just in his rulings. While working as a district judge, he stood up for civil rights and race relations and always strove for proportional sentences when convicting groups who committed the same or similar crimes. He gave time and dedication to the cases he worked on and tried to always follow the accurate court procedures without letting his own interests and opinions get in the way. However, his nomination for a position on the Fifth Circuit brought many liberal activists to the front line of opposition. Regardless of the outstanding record Pickering had as a judge, Far Left special interests groups attacked his reputation, manipulating his cases and statements into false reasons for opposition to his appointment. They tried to point him out as being soft to racial issues and a threat to women’s rights due to his anti-abortion views. Many of Pickering’s past supporters, even though they knew the truth of his record, would not assist in getting him the required votes; they allowed the Far Left groups to use him as a target in their first attempts to fight to keep republicans, conservatives, out of the circuit. It was their trial for their ultimate goal of going after Supreme Court nominees. After Pickering’s second trial in which he was viciously attacked by questions he was barely given a chance to answer, it was made clear he was going to have to rely on a democratic vote to make it due to the fact that Jim Jeffords switched, making the democratic party the majority; finding that vote, however, proved more difficult than expected, because most democrats who had offered support made final decisions of opposition in order to satisfy the Far Left groups and keep their chances of having support for running for president. When it came time for the committee to vote, the motion to appoint Pickering to the Fifth circuit failed with a 10:9 voting ratio even when three different voting strategies were put in place. Pickering did not withdraw even though he had lost the vote of the committee, so his nomination remained pending. He had little hope of confirmation, however, and returned to his duties of taking care of his farm and getting his court docket up to date. The fight against Pickering became a main topic in the senatorial elections when Republicans used it as an example to gain support against democrats on the issue of the judicial confirmation process. Democrats, however, felt it was unimportant to voters because it was not a personal issue to the community and would have little effect on democratic candidates. Two years after Pickering’s original nomination, President Bush put his name in once more. Democrats were outraged and threatened to pursue efforts of a filibuster; Pickering’s son Chip reacted by going out and talking to democrats and African American’s in order to gain support for his father and prevent this action against his nomination. Both Chip and his father met with the Black Caucus and reached a better understanding with its members, leading many of them to withdraw their opposition to Pickering’s nomination. Pickering’s nomination was sent to the full senate, and in an attempt to keep their political power, the democrats went forth with their plan to filibuster Pickering. Pickering reacted by teaming up with Jorge to create a “bipartisan solution to end senatorial holds, filibusters, and give nominees respectful and civil hearings with an up or down vote before full senate with confirmation by majority vote”. However, Pickering accepted a recess appointment and was forced to abandon the bipartisan solution. While on the circuit, Pickering did what most judges do not; he took an offer to do an interview on 60 Minutes. Though he was afraid the show would be turned against him, Pickering’s interview on 60 minutes actually helped get back his reputation and showed a lot of the opposition the kind of person he really was, making them changes sides. Despite his increased popularity, democrats still fought his pending nomination, and after his 11 months on recess appointment, he was forced to retire. Although Pickering didn’t win his confirmation, it was the left wing that lost in the long run. Republicans filled the empty seats in the senate, and a group called The Gang of Fourteen composed of seven Democrats and seven Republicans rose to stop filibustering and grant confirmation to many nominees. By lashing out at President Bush’s nominees, the Democratic Party fell behind and received mass retaliation from the Republicans. Despite all of the harsh criticisms against him, Judge Pickering never backed down. He stood up for his beliefs and his name throughout the years of processing his nomination to the Fifth Circuit. He was a southern family man who lived on a farm, valued his religion, fought for civil rights and equality for African Americans, respected his fellow man, and treated every case that came to his courts fairly. Unlike many people today, he saw past the politics of situations and followed what he believed to be right; he saw the people not just the issues. It was his outstanding reputation and civil manner that made him the wrong person for the Democrats to pick a fight with. His story provides an example of what is wrong with the judiciary system today and provides suggestions for a solution. Through his struggles with the Far Left groups, Pickering sets an ideal example of how to handle life’s difficulties and provides inspiration for his readers.