Posts Tagged ‘ Supreme Court ’

It’s not the Scalia Memorial Seat

Feb 14th, 2016 12:05 pm | By

Conor Friedersdorf at the Atlantic on the senators who are vowing to refuse to do their job:

Is it legitimate for the Republican-controlled Senate to refrain from confirming a replacement for the late Supreme Court justice until a new president is elected, as Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson and others on the right have urged? Or does the Senate have an obligation to approve a qualified nominee put forth by President Obama, as many on the left argued as soon as news of the death broke?

No, and yes.

He quotes Ted Cruz tweeting a ridiculous claim:

Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the

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It’s their very own rule book

Feb 14th, 2016 11:47 am | By

From the US Senate Judiciary Committee:

When a vacancy occurs on the Supreme Court, the President of the United States is given the authority, under Article II of the United States Constitution, to nominate a person to fill the vacancy.  The nomination is referred to the United States Senate, where the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing where the nominee provides testimony and responds to questions from members of the panel.  Traditionally, the Committee refers the nomination to the full Senate for consideration.

I don’t see anything there stipulating exceptions for a boycott or a sitdown strike or a refusal or a right to take a year-long vacation first. I don’t see any “unless the Committee or the Senate … Read the rest



Vacancy

Feb 13th, 2016 2:49 pm | By

Wow.

Scalia is dead.

An outspoken opponent of abortion, affirmative action and what he termed the “so-called homosexual agenda,” Justice Scalia’s intellectual rigor, flamboyant style and eagerness to debate his detractors energized conservative law students, professors and intellectuals who felt outnumbered by liberals in their chosen professions.

Sloppy writing, because it’s not Scalia’s rigor, style and eagerness that were an outspoken opponent of abortion and the rest, but we get the idea.

This is huge.… Read the rest