Should a private-prison industry attorney get a federal judgeship?

That's the question being considered in today's hearing of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which is considering Gus Puryear's nomination to a federal judgeship for U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Tennessee. This happens to be the same jurisdiction as the headquarters of Corrections Corporation of America, the nation's largest for-profit prison company where Puryear has served as general counsel since 2001.

Tennesseans Against Gus Puryear, one of the groups opposing the nomination, points out that Puryear would have a conflict of interest in regard to all litigation involving CCA:

Puryear's 2006 compensation from CCA included a salary of $237,308 plus $602,957 in "other long term compensation," according to forbes.com. Since Nov. 2006 he has sold shares of CCA stock valued at over $3 million (most recently, in January 2008, Puryear reported that he sold 31,100 shares of CCA stock for about $400,000 in profit). In short, CCA has made Puryear a multi-millionaire. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 455, "Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned." Under this statute, Mr. Puryear presumably would have to disqualify himself from any case involving CCA as a party. This is significant because according to a federal docket search, over 400 cases naming CCA or CCA employees have been filed in federal court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Having to assign such cases to other judges would be a burden on the federal court system, and would not be an effective use of judicial resources.

The group also raises concerns about Puryear's strong partisan work history (he previously worked under Republican Senators Bill Frist and Fred Thompson, served as Vice President Cheney's advisor during the 2000 debates, and has donated generously to GOP political causes), his lack of trial experience, and his publicly stated disdain for lawsuits brought by prisoners. The nonprofit Alliance for Justice has also submitted a letter [PDF] opposing Puryear's nomination, noting that his public comments "indicate hostility towards civil rights lawsuits in general and to those brought by prisoners in particular."