William H. Pryor, Jr. is the former Attorney General of Alabama. Although the Senate refused to confirm him as a federal judge in 2003, President Bush nonetheless used a "recess appointment" to give him a temporary spot as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 2004. Judge Pryor is now nominated to a permanent position on that court.
Judge Pryor's record shows him to be hostile to basic women's rights and civil rights. He has demonstrated his opposition to a woman’s right to choose, calling Roe v. Wade "the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history," and has criticized constitutional protections against gender discrimination. He has also been an aggressive advocate in the federalism or "states’ rights" movement: he has urged the Supreme Court to hold that states are immune from damage suits for violation of anti-discrimination statutes. He was the only state attorney general to file a brief arguing that the private right of action in the Violence Against Women Act is unconstitutional.
