The Detroit News has reported that my old boss, Judge Henry William Saad of the Michigan Court of Appeals has asked to have his name withdrawn from consideration for an open seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
In the article, Judge Saad said that "it made sense for me to step aside." Maybe. I rather think it makes no sense that it came to that. It has become convenient, politically speaking, for some to label Judge Saad as a right-wing extremist who is biased against "workers" and "the little guy." As I learned while serving a judicial clerkship with him, I know that nothing could be further from the truth. And lest one think me biased, I'll remind everyone that such bastions of right-wing extremism as the Michigan Education Association (the state teacher's union), the AFL-CIO, and the UAW endorsed his elections to the Michigan Court of Appeals. In case anyone missed the dripping irony, these are typically quite left-wing organizations that would typically prefer to endorse a ham sandwich as opposed to someone who was truly a "right-wing extremist."
Sadly, partisan politics have won again, and the federal appellate bench has been deprived of a good man and a well-respected jurist.
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