U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, not known as a partisan brawler, found herself in the thick of a party-line skirmish Thursday over a controversial appeals court nominee that Republicans have attacked as soft on crime. The fight is over U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chatigny of Connecticut, who has run afoul of Republicans for what they call a "long history of extreme leniency in criminal sentencing." In particular, they have focused on his handling of serial killer Michael Ross, the "Roadside Strangler" who was eventually executed after admitting to the murder of eight women. Klobuchar, a Democrat who once led the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, was among the most vocal members of the Judiciary Committee defending Chatigny, who also has the backing of three former U.S. Attorneys for the District of Connecticut appointed by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. The committee voted 11 to 7 to advance Chatigny to the full Senate, which may or may not see a big floor battle. Joining Klobuchar in the party-line vote was Minnesota Democrat Al Franken. Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was present but did not vote, a move for which Republicans are taking credit. Chatigny reportedly described Ross' sexual sadism was a mitigating factor in the case, and pressed the convict's lawyers to challenge his execution, even after Ross volunteered to drop all appeals and end his life. The GOP campaign against Chatigny is also based on a half-dozen child pornography cases where the judge imposed sentences shorter than those recommended in federal sentencing guidelines. A number of victims' rights and conservative groups also have opposed his nomination. But Democrats counter that he is a well-respected judge whose sentences in general are not out of line with those of most federal judges. Klobuchar accused Republicans of focusing on a handful of the hundreds of cases on which Chatigny has ruled in his 16 years on the federal bench, noting that the government has not appealed any of them.
