DC Judge Merrick Garland has been nominated as the 113th Supreme Court judge by President Barack Obama.
President Barack Obama has nominated Merrick Garland as his choice for the 113th Supreme Court Justice in America, who is known to have drawn support from both sides of the aisle in the past.
"I've selected a nominee who is widely recognized not only as one of America's sharpest legal minds, but someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency, modesty, integrity, even-handedness, and excellence," Obama said in a formal ceremony announcing his selection at the White House Rose Garden.
Garland, 63, has served in the DC Circuit Court since 1997, and has been the chief judge for the last three years. If he is confirmed, then he would be the oldest judge to have joined the Supreme court after Justice Lewis Powell (1972).
A graduate from Harvard Law School, he is known to have an extensive experience in public service and conscientious work ethics. Garland oversaw federal criminal cases in his capacity as Deputy Assistant Attorney General and then as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General in the Department of Justice.
He was appointed to the DC court with the support of the majority of both the parties 19 years ago, including of seven Republicans who are holding office at present.
The White House press release describing his background and biography notes that he has a reputation of being a "meticulous judge with a knack for building consensus, playing it straight, and deciding every case based on what the law requires."
Garland's quote on law ethics are published in the brief, where he says that "the role of the court is to apply the law to the facts of the case before it--not to legislate, not to arrogate to itself the executive power, not to hand down advisory opinions on the issues of the day."
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said of Garland, "Anytime Judge Garland disagrees, you know you're in a difficult area."
The president's decision to appoint a nominee for the Supreme Court has been met with some opposition from Republicans, who tried to block the confirmation process.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) publicly opposed Garland's nomination, irrespective of the judge's experience and attributes deemed relevant for the office by the White House. He even personally spoke to Judge Garland, telling him that he would not welcome him in his Capitol office.
"The American people may well elect a president who decides to nominate Judge Garland for Senate consideration. The next president may also nominate someone very different. Either way, our view is this: Give the people a voice in the filling of this vacancy," McConnell said.
President Obama warned that Republicans' decision to stall the nomination will have adverse consequences on the Supreme Court and democracy.
"The reputation of the supreme court will inevitably suffer. Faith in our justice system will inevitably suffer. Our democracy will suffer as well. To suggest that someone as qualified and respected as Merrick Garland doesn't even deserve a hearing, let alone an up-or-down vote, to join an institution as important as our Supreme Court, when two-thirds of Americans believe otherwise - that would be unprecedented," the president said in his speech.
"At a time when our politics are so polarized, at a time when norms and customs of political rhetoric and courtesy and comity are so often treated like they're disposable, this is precisely the time when we should play it straight," he continued.
The nomination of Garland comes about one month after the death of Judge Antonin Scalia, which left the Supreme Court with eight justices, four liberal-leaning and the other four on the conservative side. Garland is said to have a centrist approach and a measured rhetoric.
"People must be confident that a judge's decisions are determined by the law and only the law. He must be faithful to the constitution and statutes passed by Congress. Fidelity to the constitution and the law has been the cornerstone of my life and the hallmark of the kind of judge I have tried to be," Garland said at his acceptance speech.
