As a prosecutor, Garland oversaw the Unabomber and Oklahoma City bombing trials.
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President Obama nominated Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court Wednesday. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where Garland is the chief judge, many cases revolve instead around issues such as administrative law and regulatory questions, Garnett said.
Obama cast the 63-year-old Garland as “a serious man and an exemplary judge” deserving of a full hearing and a Senate confirmation vote, despite Republican vows to deny him both. He says Garland is not a predictable vote on the court, which doesn’t please conservatives or liberals. Nineteen years ago he was also confirmed by the Republican-led senate 76 to 23 for the D.C. Court of Appeals. Jeff Flake, one of the only Republicans agreeing to even meet with Obama’s nominee.
Obama announced his intention to nominate Garland on Wednesday. “Now, we need to do our job in the Senate”.
Said Leahy: “I talked to him about where the hurdles are, and I talked to him about what I thought would happen if we actually follow the oath that we’ve all taken to uphold the Constitution”. “Chief Justice Garland is roughly in the same age range as Justice (Ruth Bader) Ginsburg and Justice (Harry) Blackmun were when they were nominated”, Deese said. The president formally opened the fray, nominating the head of the federal appeals court for the District of Columbia.
“The idea that they are blocking the president’s qualified pick in order to pave the way for Trump’s is going to be a very powerful argument that will be deployed endlessly” in states that Obama won, Pfeiffer said. Last week the the National Council of of Asian Pacific Americans summed up the game plan in one post: “The President’s Supreme Court nominee – whoever it is – deserves fair and prompt consideration”.
The ad says an Obama appointment to the court could “radically transform” laws governing land ownership, gun rights and religious freedom and says, “Tell Senator Grassley, keep fighting for the right of Iowans to decide the Supreme Court’s future”.
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Obama said Garland has the ability to bring together “odd couples”, and that made him a consensus candidate in the best position to become an immediate force on the high court. Then the Judiciary Committee in the Senate could hold confirmation hearings, at which time the nominee would testify.
