
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 12, 1991                   TAG: 9104120955
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

JUDGE RYSKAMP'S BIG MOUTH DID HIM IN

Miami judge Kenneth Ryskamp was his own worst enemy during confirmation hearings and the Senate's refusal to elevate him to a federal appeals court doesn't portend a new litmus test of judicial philosophy.

"I've sat here time and again and known that the political philosophy of that individual up for confirmation was totally opposite of mine, yet I have voted for him," Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, said before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to reject Ryskamp's nomination for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ryskamp's defeat marked the first time the Senate had rejected one of President Bush's judicial nominations. Bush has appointed 76 federal judges and has a chance to fill 143 additional vacancies.

A federal district judge in Miami, Ryskamp's statements about blacks and Hispanics contributed more the defeat of his elevation to a higher court than his conservative judicial philosophy.

Ryskamp raised the ire of civil rights groups when he remarked from the bench that "it might not be inappropriate" for plaintiffs in a brutality suit who were mauled by police dogs "to carry around a few scars" as reminders of their wrongdoing.

His comments about the habitual lateness of Cubans in Miami and the inability of his wife to find food he likes because stores are so heavily stocked with Latin groceries sparked opposition by Hispanic groups.

Ryskamp dug himself a deeper hole when he tried to explain his remarks during his March 19 confirmation hearing.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., the judiciary committee chairman, said he was dumbfounded that Ryskamp didn't apologize for his comments in the dog bite case.

"When one, hopefully, makes an injudicious remark and it's pointed out to them, they say `It was injudicious, I made a mistake,' " Biden said.

"That's the one thing that Judge Ryskamp did not say," Biden added. "Quite frankly, if he had just said that it would have been all settled for me."

Even though the 8-6 vote against the nomination was along party lines in the Democratic-run committee, observers said it doesn't represent a change in the panel's willingness to approve Bush's nominees.

In defeat, Ryskamp issued a characteristically defiant statement, saying "the charges against me are wholly false and repugnant to all that I stand for."

by CNB