September 14, 2016

Dax Lopez 2016 – D.A. King in the AJC: Lopez not in tune with most Georgians

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Atlanta Journal Constitution

Letters to the editor,

September 9, 2016

Lopez not in tune with most Georgians

We are proud to have easily organized the opposition to Dax Lopez for the state Supreme Court and the letter-writing campaign to the governor. Contrary to reports, our objections have nothing to do with Lopez’s ethnicity.

Dax Lopez spent more than a decade as a board member of the anti-enforcement immigration corporation GALEO, which is funded by big business. Lopez acted as keynote speaker at a GALEO funder after becoming a state court judge.

Lopez’s declaration that he “agrees with their mission” must always be viewed with the knowledge that the Jane Fonda – supported GALEO has smeared law enforcement officers who dare to help enforce immigration laws. GALEO has marched against immigration enforcement, lobbied against E-verify laws designed to protect legal workers, against local jails honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds for criminal aliens, and vehemently opposed voter ID. And they lobby against English as our official language.

Neither GALEO or Lopez are in the Georgia mainstream.

D.A. KING, PRESIDENT OF THE DUSTIN INMAN SOCIETY

HERE

September 7, 2016

Dax Lopez 2016 – AJC laments (again) that GALEO’s Dax Lopez will not be a state supreme court justice…

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Atlanta Journal Constitution

Sept 6, 2016

Latino judge faced stiff opposition to seat on Georgia’s top court

Greg Bluestein reporting

More than 130 lawyers were nominated for the three open Georgia Supreme Court slots, but there was only one who provoked a storm of letters to Gov. Nathan Deal’s office.

Two county sheriffs urged Deal not to appoint State Court Judge Dax Lopez to Georgia’s highest bench. A conservative Atlanta group said his history should “disqualify” him from the seat. And a string of voters added their objections, using the words “frightening” and “stupid” to describe his potential candidacy.

The judge’s offense? His past membership in the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, a bipartisan advocacy group that supports a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally and fought tougher state laws on immigration.

For Lopez, a Hispanic Republican who decided last month not to seek appointment to the state’s top bench, it is a familiar line of attack.

The same criticism led U.S. Sen. David Perdue to scuttle Lopez’s nomination in January after President Barack Obama sought to make him the state’s first lifetime-appointed Latino federal judge. And a Republican challenger in a failed May campaign to oust Lopez from the DeKalb County bench labeled him a “rejected politician.”

The pushback against him illustrates the GOP’s hard-line tilt over immigration that fueled Donald Trump’s presidential nomination — and why it can be difficult for the party to attract Latinos.

Deal has three slots to fill on the Georgia Supreme Court because state lawmakers went along with his plan this year to add two positions to the court. Another long-serving justice is set to retire in January.

Lopez, who declined to comment Tuesday, stepped down from GALEO in September 2015, shortly after his nomination to the federal bench. But he has said he was frustrated he did not get a chance to tell his side of the story during the federal nomination process. Latino advocates say it’s symptomatic of deeper problems.

“Anti-immigrant activists are extremists and not in the mainstream, and GALEO has Latino community members from both sides of the aisle,” said Jerry Gonzalez, GALEO’s executive director. “The current political environment has stoked many xenophobic and racist ideas that, polls show, are repulsed by many Americans.”

‘History should disqualify him’

When Obama tapped Lopez for the seat in July 2015 it seemed to many to be a foregone conclusion. State Republican Party counsel Anne Lewis, former state House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey and other prominent GOP attorneys signed a letter to the senators in support of Lopez a few months later.

But a groundswell of conservative blowback quickly slowed the momentum as critics highlighted his past membership on GALEO’s board. It dovetailed with a hardening GOP immigration stance that featured Trump’s tough-talking call for mass deportations of millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and construction of a wall on the border with Mexico.

That opposition continues to haunt Lopez, a member of the conservative Federalist Society who was first appointed to the Georgia bench by then-Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue. Under pressure to increase diversity on the state’s top bench, Lopez was considered by some observers a serious contender for an open seat.

But The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that Deal had received a string of anti-Lopez letters that revealed just how divisive his nomination would have been. The Lopez critiques were the only ones sent to Deal’s office in recent months singling out a potential judicial candidate.

The executive board of the Conservative Republican Women of North Atlanta wrote Deal that Lopez’s “history should disqualify” him. Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway said Lopez “closely aligned himself with a radical organization,” and Union County Sheriff Mark Mason said Lopez’s ties to GALEO were a deal-breaker.

“Say it ain’t so!” added a voter, Ernest Wade of Loganville. “If you appoint Dax Lopez to Georgia’s Supreme Court, then we all know that you have been deceiving us.”

Much of the opposition was marshaled by D.A. King, an activist who casts himself as a defender of immigration law and an opponent of GALEO. King cheered Perdue’s decision to block the Lopez nomination earlier this year, and urged his supporters to dial Deal’s office last month to oppose an “anti-enforcement judge from the illegal alien lobby.”… READ THE REST HERE

August 26, 2016

Dax Lopez 2016 – Mission accomplished – again: GALEO’s Dax Lopez says he would rather be a state court judge than be on Georgia Supreme Court

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AJC

Political Insider blogger Greg Bluestein:

August 26, 2016

“Leading Georgia Latino judge won’t seek state Supreme Court seat

The DeKalb County jurist who was blocked from becoming Georgia’s first Latino federal judge earlier this year has withdrawn his name from one of three vacancies on the Georgia Supreme Court.

Dax Lopez, seen as a strong contender for one of the openings, said Thursday that he’s “humbled” to have been nominated but that he wants to instead focus on his role as a DeKalb State Court judge.

Lopez – who is Jewish, Republican and Hispanic – was President Barack Obama’s nominee for a U.S. District judgeship last year. His nomination was scuttled by U.S. Sen. David Perdue after anti-illegal immigration forces in Georgia pointed to Lopez’ past association with certain Latino groups.

Lopez was among 130 attorneys nominated for the open spots – two created by legislation that boosts the court from seven justices to nine and a third left open by Chief Justice Hugh Thompson’s decision to retire in January. Several other possible contenders have also dropped out of the running, including Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Dillard.

With the three new openings, Gov. Nathan Deal has the chance to appoint a majority of the court’s bench before he leaves office in January 2019. He has already made one appointment – Keith Blackwell was tapped in June 2012 – and Presiding Justice Harris Hines also said he plans to retire before Deal’s tenure is up.

Here’s Lopez’s full statement:

Recently, someone was nice enough to submit my name for consideration for one of the open spots on the Georgia Supreme Court. While I am truly honored and humbled that someone would think me worthy enough for such an important position, I have decided not to submit an application. While it would be a great honor to serve on the highest court in Georgia, I enjoy being a trial judge and I love serving the people of DeKalb County. There are many excellent candidates seeking these posts, and I am confident that the three individuals chosen will serve the people of Georgia with honor and distinction.” HERE

August 22, 2016

Dax Lopez 2016 – Letter to Governor Deal from loyal Republican Judy Craft of Gwinnett County

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August 16, 2016

Dax Lopez 2016 – Conservative Republican Women of North Atlanta write Governor Deal and the Judicial Nominating Commission in opposition to Dax Lopez as a state Supreme Court Justice

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Letter-Board-Conservative-Republican-Women

August 10, 2016

Dax Lopez 2016 –Letter of opposition to GALEO’s anti-enforcement judge, Dax Lopez, from Robert Trent, Senior Special Agent (Ret), U.S. Immigration Service Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and the members of the state Judicial Nominating Commission

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August 11, 2016

Dear Governor Deal,

I was recently informed that Dax Lopez is being considered for a seat on the Georgia Supreme Court, if this is true, it is truly unfortunate for all Georgians. Mr. Lopez has served on the Board of GALEO, a radical activist organization that supports illegal immigration and strongly opposes immigration law enforcement. They also support open borders and illegal aliens.

GALEO currently supports the hiring of non-U.S. Citizens to be police officers, a dangerous and unnecessary thing to do during these trying times where we have global terrorism. We need to be tightening up on our security and safety, not providing the keys to the kingdom to those that haven’t taken an oath to serve, protect Americans, and defend our constitution.

Mr. Lopez with GALEO has:

-Organized and participated in marches in the streets of Atlanta demanding and end to any enforcement of American immigration laws;

-Lobbied against Georgia sheriffs cooperation with federal immigration law enforcement authorities and congratulated sheriffs for refusing to honor ICE detainers served on criminal deportable aliens;

-And lobbied against any state laws that inhibit the crimes of illegal immigration and illegal employment.

Dax Lopez harbors these radical views, which would serve to influence his judicial decisions to the detriment of all Georgians. I hope the commission can find other nominees that don’t have an agenda such as the one displayed by Mr. Lopez.

Respectfully,

Robert M. Trent
Senior Special Agent (Ret.)
U.S. Immigration Service

CC: Judicial Nomination Commission

Dax Lopez 2016 — Letter of opposition to GALEO’s anti-enforcement judge, Dax Lopez, from Gwinnett County Butch Conway to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal

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Letter-GovDeal_081016

August 2, 2016

Dax Lopez 2016 — GALEO’s anti-enforcement judge, DAX LOPEZ is on this list: Here’s Who’s Been Nominated For the Supreme Court of Georgia So Far

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PLEASE HELP STOP DAX LOPEZ FROM BECOMING A GEORGIA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE!

Forgot who and what Dax Lopez is? Having been discarded by the U.S. Senate for a federal bench seat, now the state Republican establishment wants to put him on the Georgia Supreme Court!

A reminder below, and Governor Deal’s office number is 404-656-1776

NO! to an anti-enforcement judge from the illegal alien lobby for Georgia Supreme Court!

Image: DIS

 

Here’s Who’s Been Nominated For the Supreme Court of Georgia So Far

Jonathan Ringel,

Daily Report
August 2, 2016

The Judicial Nominating Commission had received nominations of 79 judges and lawyers for two seats on the Supreme Court of Georgia as of 11 a.m. Tuesday.

The commission, which will recommend to Gov. Nathan Deal a list of up to five nominees for each seat, will take nominations through Monday, Aug. 8. Nominees will then have to fill out an application to be considered for an interview by the commission. (Nominations may be sent to the commission by letter, addressed to Judicial Nominating Commission, c/o Dana McGuire, 600 Peachtree N.E., Suite 5200, Atlanta, GA 30308-2216; by fax to 404-962-6919; or by email c/o dana.mcguire@troutmansanders.com.)

Later this year, the commission will help the governor fill a third opening on the high court.
In 2015, more than 200 people were nominated for three open slots on the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Nearly half of those nominated did not complete applications, showing that being nominated does not necessarily mean a nominee is interested in the post.

Below is the list of Supreme Court nominees provided by the Judicial Nominating Commission at 11 a.m. Tuesday. The Daily Report alphabetized the list but did not check spelling of names. The Daily Report will publish updated lists periodically through Monday.

Gary Alembik
Michael G. Anderson
Nina Markette Baker
Kimberly Bandoh
Richard H. Bennett
Dennis Blackmon
Todd Boyce
Elizabeth Branch
M. Gino Brogdon, Sr.
Robert Broglia
Tamara Calder
Michael L. Chidester
Michael C. Clark
Verda M. Colvin
John Blake Cunningham
Stephen L.A. Dillard
David T. Emerson
Edgar W. Ennis, Jr.
Robert Brandon Faircloth
Vincent James Faucette
Christopher Freeman
Sarah Geraghty
Sarah Gerwig-Moore
David Michael Ginsburg
Ural D. Glanville
Frederick N. Gleaton
Stephen S. Goss
Reuben Greene
Thomas Greer
Karlise Grier
Adam Hames
Sheryl E. Harrison-Mercer
Bruce S. Harvey
Denorris Heard
Avis Hornsby
Asha F. Jackson
Brian Kammer
LaTain Kell
Scott Key
Gerard B. Kleinrock
Joyce Klemmer
Christine Koehler
Wesley Allen Lambertus
Robert Leonard
* Dax Lopez
D. Todd Markle…. Read the rest at the Daily Report site (paywall)

May 6, 2019

Georgia Senator David Perdue on GALEO’s Dax Lopez in 2016

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Georgia Senator David Perdue. Image: Twitter

“After a thorough review of the professional and judicial record of DeKalb County Judge Dax Lopez, I have become uncomfortable with his long-standing participation in a controversial organization, including his service on its board of directors,” Perdue wrote in a statement. “I believe similar concerns would be raised by many of my colleagues, making Judge Lopez’s final confirmation unattainable.”

Read more here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article61366457.html#storylink=cpy

August 10, 2016

Dax Lopez, 2016 — Letter of opposition to GALEO’s anti-enforcement judge, Dax Lopez, from Union County Sheriff Mack Mason to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and the members of the state Judicial Nominating Commission

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