March 21 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court refused to second-guess President George W. Bush's temporary appointment of William Pryor to a federal appeals court after Senate Democrats blocked his confirmation.

The court in Washington today turned down three separate petitions by people who challenged Pryor's authority to participate in reviews of their cases. The appeals argued that the U.S. Constitution allows temporary appointments only during the recess between one-year sessions of Congress, not during breaks within a congressional session.

The high court's rejection is a boost for the administration, which a year ago made Pryor a recess appointee to the Atlanta- based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after Senate Democrats twice blocked his confirmation. Bush said at the time that he was forced to put Pryor on the bench to overcome ``unprecedented obstructionist tactics'' by Democrats.

Democrats said Pryor was hostile to abortion rights and would narrow civil-rights protections. The 11th Circuit covers Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

Pryor, the former attorney general of Alabama, can serve on the court through the end of this year without Senate action. Bush renominated Pryor in December for a permanent seat on the court.

The Constitution lets the president make temporary appointments ``during the recess of the Senate.'' The appointments last through the following one-year session of Congress.

Drug Conviction

Two of the appeals rejected today came from convicted criminal defendants. In one case, Shannon Miller sought to overturn his 17 1/2-year sentence for cocaine possession. Pryor served on a three-judge 11th Circuit panel that upheld the sentence.

The Constitution's framers ``intended Senate confirmation of presidential appointments to be an important check on presidential power,'' Miller's lawyers said in court papers. Recess appointments were meant to ``fill critical vacancies while the Senate was unavailable'' to vote during long recesses between congressional sessions early in U.S. history, they said.

Justice Department lawyers urged the Supreme Court to deny Miller a hearing, saying the use of recess appointments to fill judicial vacancies was a ``longstanding practice'' dating back to George Washington. Only four judges have been put on the bench through recess appointments in the last 40 years, government lawyers said.

Miller's appeal to the Supreme Court also asked the justices to decide whether temporary appointments are allowed for federal judges at all. Such appointments erode the guarantee of an independent judiciary, his lawyers said.

Strip Search Case

A second appeal came from Charles Franklin, who was sentenced to two years and three months in prison for driving his pick-up truck into a mosque in Tallahassee, Florida. Franklin was convicted under the U.S. Church Arson Prevention Act of using a dangerous weapon to damage religious property for reasons of race, color or ethnic characteristics.

At the Supreme Court, Franklin challenged both Congress's power to enact the 1996 law and Pryor's participation on the appeal in the case.

In the third dispute, the high court refused to revive a lawsuit by two college students against a Georgia police officer who pulled them over for speeding, then arrested them and subjected them to a strip search and body-cavity search.

A trial judge concluded the officer, Denis Stephens, couldn't be sued. On appeal, Students Peter Evans and Detree Jordan then challenged Pryor's authority to take part in the case. A 10-judge panel of the 11th Circuit voted 8-2 that Pryor's appointment was proper.

During his first term, Bush also used a recess appointment to install Charles Pickering Sr. on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The cases are Miller v. U.S., 04-38; Franklin v. U.S., 04- 5858; and Evans v. Stephens, 04-828.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 21, 2005 10:43 EST