Mitch McConnell Lays Down The Law.
Obama's Judges and the Senate
Mitch McConnell lays down some markers.
There's plenty of precedent: Mr. Bush made an effort early in his Administration by renominating Clinton judges Roger Gregory and Barrington Parker. Bill Clinton sent up Republican-appointed district judges for appeals court vacancies in the late 1990s, and they were quickly confirmed by the Senate.
Giving the nod to Bush nominees would also help allay the concern that Mr. Obama lacks a constitutional standard for judicial selection. On the campaign trail, the Illinois Senator suggested that one of his criteria for selecting judges would be their "empathy." That's a far cry from judges as impartial arbiters of the law -- and would be the most untethered standard any President has offered for judicial picks. Without a fealty to the Constitution, a judge is able to bend on the emotions of a case.
In picking judges, one test will be how Mr. Obama uses the American Bar Association, the lawyers' group hoping to reclaim a dominant role in judicial vetting. The group lost that privilege during the Bush Administration, when the President noted that the ABA's supposedly nonpartisan "professional" review had devolved into transparent politicking. The ABA has been a force in politicizing the selection of judges since it announced in the 1980s that ideology was a legitimate consideration. In 2001, New York Senator Chuck Schumer formally adopted that standard, which Senate Democrats then used to stymie numerous Bush nominees, all the way to unprecedented judicial filibusters.
Mr. Obama has his own skeletons in this regard, most notably in his 'no' vote on the confirmation of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Though Judge Roberts was broadly accepted by Democrats as possessing the qualifications and temperament to make a fine Justice, Mr. Obama explained that he had decided to oppose the nomination because of concerns over his "political" philosophy. He shouldn't be surprised if the GOP invokes the same standard.
Mitch McConnell lays down some markers.
There's plenty of precedent: Mr. Bush made an effort early in his Administration by renominating Clinton judges Roger Gregory and Barrington Parker. Bill Clinton sent up Republican-appointed district judges for appeals court vacancies in the late 1990s, and they were quickly confirmed by the Senate.
Giving the nod to Bush nominees would also help allay the concern that Mr. Obama lacks a constitutional standard for judicial selection. On the campaign trail, the Illinois Senator suggested that one of his criteria for selecting judges would be their "empathy." That's a far cry from judges as impartial arbiters of the law -- and would be the most untethered standard any President has offered for judicial picks. Without a fealty to the Constitution, a judge is able to bend on the emotions of a case.
In picking judges, one test will be how Mr. Obama uses the American Bar Association, the lawyers' group hoping to reclaim a dominant role in judicial vetting. The group lost that privilege during the Bush Administration, when the President noted that the ABA's supposedly nonpartisan "professional" review had devolved into transparent politicking. The ABA has been a force in politicizing the selection of judges since it announced in the 1980s that ideology was a legitimate consideration. In 2001, New York Senator Chuck Schumer formally adopted that standard, which Senate Democrats then used to stymie numerous Bush nominees, all the way to unprecedented judicial filibusters.
Mr. Obama has his own skeletons in this regard, most notably in his 'no' vote on the confirmation of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Though Judge Roberts was broadly accepted by Democrats as possessing the qualifications and temperament to make a fine Justice, Mr. Obama explained that he had decided to oppose the nomination because of concerns over his "political" philosophy. He shouldn't be surprised if the GOP invokes the same standard.
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posted by KYJurisDoctor at 5:57 PM
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