Appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit                             

President Bush sidestepped the confirmation process and recess appointed Pickering to the Fifth Circuit on January 16, 2004. Prior to that, the Senate defeated his confirmation twice -- once in the Judiciary Committee and then again in October 2003, when the Senate voted against invoking cloture on his confirmation.

Senators who voted to defeat Charles Pickering's confirmation cited the troubling nature of his record, including his extreme views on critical civil rights, women's rights, and constitutional issues. His immoderate positions and tendency toward conservative judicial activism disqualify him from elevation to any federal court of appeal, much less the important Fifth Circuit, which has the largest percentage of African Americans and Hispanics of any federal circuit court in the country.

Pickering retired December 8th, shortly before his term as a recess appointee was due to expire, and requested not to be renominated.