Libertarian group urges Reid to block judicial nominee

Amidst the political ads on television in Las Vegas, viewers this week may have caught a commercial urging Sen. Harry Reid to block the promotion of a federal judge.

Robert Chatigny, a federal district judge in Connecticut for 16 years, was nominated by President Barack Obama and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a party line vote on June 10 to be promoted to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Chatigny has drawn fire from conservatives who charge he has "a weird record of empathy" for sex offenders. The critics are focusing particularly on his handling of serial killer Michael Ross, the so-called "Roadside Strangler" who was executed in 2005.

Americans for Limited Government, a libertarian think tank, funded TV ads running in Las Vegas and Reno this week urging Reid, the Senate majority leader, to reject Chatigny.

"A vote for Chatigny is a vote in support of a serial killer apologist," says Richard Manning, communications director for Americans for Limited Government..

The organization also is running commercials in Vermont targeting Sen. Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who said Chatigny had been "unfairly smeared" by Republicans. Leahy said Chatigny was rated "well qualified" by the American Bar Association, and a 2006 ethics complaint against Chatigny stemming from the Ross case was reviewed and dismissed by a special judicial council.