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WASHINGTON -- With unabashed candor, President Bush's
controversial nominee to the appeals court that oversees
Florida, Alabama and Georgia presents himself as a deeply
religious, anti-abortion conservative eager to restrain what
he calls the overweening power of the federal government.
At 41, Bill Pryor is young, ambitious and quick to plunge into
legal crusades well beyond his home state of Alabama.
For Florida -- a hotbed of legal disputes over pollution
control in the Everglades, detention of Haitian immigrants,
tobacco litigation, gun control and much more -- Pryor's
influence in a key judicial role, if he is approved by the
Senate, could have significant impact. For most federal cases
in Florida, the 11th Circuit is the court of last resort.
Pryor's nomination to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
has stirred an ideological struggle, rousing opposition from
liberal activists who fear he would undermine enforcement of
environmental standards, restrain abortion rights, discourage
gun control, limit civil rights, side with the tobacco
industry and erode separation of church and state.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-apryor08jul08,0,4637309.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines