Fifteen former American Bar Association presidents are joining the push to urge Republicans to consider US President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, the Jewish jurist Merrick Garland.
In a letter to Senate leaders, the legal advocates argue that the GOP blockade is injecting politics into the courts in a way that “materially hampers the effective operation” of the judiciary.
The group calls Garland “one of the most outstanding judges in the country” and says the Senate should give him a hearing and a vote.
Judge Merrick Garland at the White House listening to President Barack Obama announce his nomination to the Supreme Court, March 16, 2016. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images via JTA)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley say they won’t consider Garland because an election-year hearing would be too political.
In the letter, the lawyers argue “there is no election-year exception” to the Senate’s advice and consent responsibilities in the Constitution.
— AP
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