WASHINGTON (AP) — Merrick Garland has been in this position before.
The last time a seat opened up on the U.S. Supreme Court, in 2010, he was widely considered a top candidate for the job and interviewed with President Barack Obama. But the slot ultimately went to Justice Elena Kagan.
It’s not hard to see why Obama might again find the 63-year-old Garland an attractive nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last month. He has a reputation as a moderate, which could please Republicans, and a resume that makes him look like a lot of the high court’s current members.
He graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, a school attended by five other current justices and Scalia. He’s now chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, sometimes called the “second highest court in the land” in part because of the frequency with which its judges ascend to the Supreme Court just a few blocks away.
As a young lawyer, Garland clerked for two appointees of Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the liberal U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan Jr. and Judge Henry J. Friendly, for whom Chief Justice John Roberts also clerked. Before becoming a judge himself, he was a prosecutor and supervised Justice Department investigations into the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.
His background made him popular even with Republicans when he was nominated to the D.C. Circuit by President Bill Clinton in 1995, but the full Senate didn’t initially act on his nomination. The issue wasn’t Garland, Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley said at the time, but whether the court needed another judge at all. Grassley is now the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which would oversee any hearings on a nominee.
Garland was ultimately confirmed to the D.C. Circuit on a vote of 76-23 in 1997. Thirty-two Republicans voted in favor of his nomination, including seven who are still members of the Senate.
Despite his background, there are two possible stumbling blocks to his nomination: his age and the fact he is a white male. Most of the court’s current members were nominated and confirmed while in their 50s. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the oldest at confirmation, at 60.
Presidents generally like to choose nominees younger than the 63-year-old Garland to ensure they will serve for a long time. Still, Justice Lewis Powell was 64 when nominated to the court in 1971, so Garland’s nomination wouldn’t be unprecedented. President Obama has also sought to diversify the court with his previous picks, choosing Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s first Hispanic justice, and Kagan, whose confirmation meant that for the first time there were three women on the court.
Garland’s religion — he is Jewish — also wouldn’t add to the diversity of the court. Three of its current members are Jewish and five are Catholic.
“Before becoming a judge himself, he was a prosecutor and supervised Justice Department investigations into the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.”
OKC bombing was a fed operation completely so anyone who “supervised” the investigation and found it anywhere NEAR what the official report says is already a proven “yes man”.
How do you think he got this far, anyway? Not just by being a Harvard joo.
Like Grey Poupon, “how do you think I got sooo rich?”
Sotomayor is a marrano joo, so at face value it makes it 4-4.
Even the pope spews zionist lies for them so in reality this will put it at, ohhh, let me see here…
9-0
Another ‘jew’ on the supreme court??
Sotomayer – marrano crypto-‘jew’?
Breyer – ‘jew’
Alito – roman catholic
Kagan – ‘jew’
Thomas – roman catholic
Roberts – roman catholic
Kennnedy – roman catholic
Ginsburg – ‘jew’
Garland – ‘jew’
5 ‘jews’ and 4 roman catholics.
41% of packaged food in america is labeled ‘kosher’ which the goyim pay for through ‘hidden’ costs, yet…
‘Jews’ represent less than 2% of the American population.
However…
America and israel have nearly the same number of ‘jews’.
America : 5,700,000 – 6,800,000 ‘jews’ (10,000,000 enlarged population)
Israel : 6,335,000 (6,451,000 enlarged population)
Next in line is the EU with just 1,103,300 (1,592,700 enlarged population)
America and israel, both the worlds biggest warmongers,
just happen to hold the world’s largest ‘jewish’ populations.
It’s no wonder america is in such deep trouble.
And if this psychopath garland is confirmed to the supreme court, they’ll be coming for your guns and a whole lot more.
-flek
All we need to know is that he is Jewish.
“He has a reputation as a moderate…”
Complete BS – he is a flaming liberal.
Here is a non AP story:
Merrick Garland has ‘very liberal view of gun rights’
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/16/merrick-garland-has-very-liberal-view-gun-rights/
“Garland’s religion — he is Jewish — also wouldn’t add to the diversity of the court. Three of its current members are Jewish and five are Catholic.”
Traitors, one and all.
Garland will hang as one as well, regardless if he gets the seat or not.