Fine Choice for U.S. Rights Post

Los Angeles civil rights attorney Bill Lann Lee is a smart, pragmatic consensus builder who has proven himself in fighting discrimination based on race, national origin, gender, age or disability. He has the expertise, the experience and the temperament to head the Justice Department’s civil rights division. This nomination should be a slam dunk for the Senate. Instead it has become a partisan referendum on President Clinton’s continued support for some form of affirmative action.

If confirmed, Lee, the western regional counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, would become the first Asian American to manage the 250-lawyer division. He would be well positioned to broaden civil rights enforcement to accommodate the nation’s multicultural dynamics.

Some Republicans are seizing on Lee’s opposition to Proposition 209, the anti-affirmative action ballot measure approved last November by California voters. But what else might be expected from a veteran civil rights lawyer? And during his confirmation hearing he promised to abide by the law of the land, which awaits a Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of Proposition 209.

Nominees to the federal civil rights post do often run into political trouble. During the Reagan administration, a Democratic majority blocked the promotion of Bradford Reynolds, who opposed busing and other traditional civil rights remedies. A Bush nominee, William Lucas, was blocked on similar grounds. Clinton’s first choice, Lani Guinier, hit a wall of GOP rejection. Later, Deval Patrick was confirmed; he resigned in January.

Conservatives should love Lee. The son of poor Chinese immigrants who owned a hand laundry in Harlem, Lee made it on merit. He graduated with high honors from Yale and Columbia University Law School and could have enriched himself in private practice. Instead, he has spent 23 years in civil rights law.

Even legal adversaries admire him. Mayor Richard Riordan, a Republican, was on the other side when the NAACP Legal Defense Fund accused the MTA of providing inferior service to poor, inner-city bus riders. Lee built a strong case, then negotiated a settlement that saved the city substantial legal fees while still achieving more equitable transportation in Southern California. Riordan praised Lee for “practical leadership and expertise” that eschewed divisive politics.

Bill Lee is well qualified to become assistant attorney general for civil rights, and his nomination should be approved now.