Obama's Republican Latino Judicial Nominee Dax Eric López Encounters Trouble From Conservative

By Michael Oleaga Aug 13 2015, 16:40 PM EDT

President Barack Obama's Latino District Court judge nominee could encounter political gridlock from Republicans despite being a fellow Republican.

Obama nominated Dax Eric López to serve the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in late July. He has been serving as a judge on the State Court of Dekalb County since 2010, appointed by then-Georgia Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue, presiding civil and criminal cases. López, however, awaits a confirmation process from the Republican-controlled Senate, and Republican Georgia Sens. David Perdue and John Isakson have a major role in recommending López.

"I congratulate Judge Dax López of DeKalb County on his nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I look forward to meeting Judge López and exploring his judicial philosophy during the confirmation process," said Perdue in a statement.

Isakson stated, "I welcome the nomination and look forward to meeting with Judge López during the confirmation process."

In Georgia, Phil Kent, a member of the state's Immigration Enforcement Review Board, has opposed López's nomination, reportedly due to his association with an organization of Latino elected officials. According to Kent, the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) "an illegal alien lobby group" with immigration stances that are "opposed by most Republicans in Georgia."

Kent laughed at the idea López is a Republican. The board member said he called Isakson and Perdue to oppose Obama's nominee.

Kent also wrote a column to explain why the Georgia senators should reject López. He acknowledged GALEO's political stance on issues, including opposition to voter identification law, opposition to have English as Georgia government's official language and support for in-state college tuition for undocumented immigrants. He added that Gov. Perdue nominated López as "outreach to Hispanics."

Kent wrote, "Also, can López be an 'impartial' federal judge at a time when his benefactor Obama has been bypassing Congress with unconstitutional executive actions granting amnesty and 'deferred status' to illegal immigrants? Remember, too, that López had a big patron during his 2012 election campaign. It was none other than last year's failed Democratic gubernatorial nominee and grandson of former President Jimmy Carter."

López was also an Atlanta-based lawyer between 2002 and 2010. Prior to serving on the bench, López was a law clerk to Chief Judge Héctor Laffitte of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2002.

If confirmed by the Senate, López would be the first Latino federal lifetime-appointed judge in Georgia

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