ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON, Miss., May 7 - The head of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus says he no longer opposes U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering's appeals court nomination - a surprising turnabout that could cost him his position.

STATE REP. PHILLIP West, a Democrat, said in a Tuesday statement that he was speaking only for himself and not for the full caucus. The 45-member caucus has vigorously opposed Pickering's nomination to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Pickering, nominated to the New Orleans-based court by President Bush, has been criticized by black organizations for his record on civil rights issues, including his decision to seek a lighter sentence for a convicted cross-burner.

… "I have been ostracized and shunned by both blacks and whites and characterized as a racist myself."
- STATE REP PHILLIP WEST, MISS. D