SCOTUS Brief 5/13/2016
Omaha World-Herald: As opponents turn up heat, Grassley isn’t budging on Merrick Garland nomination – Great Falls Tribune: DSCC Chair Jon Tester Won’t Commit to Supporting Garland – Washington Times: Merrick Garland cites most important cases that favor mostly liberal views
To keep up with conservative & legal experts on Twitter follow:
- Writing for the Omaha World-Herald, Joseph Morton notes that despite a concerted effort by liberals to turn up the heat on Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Senator is holding firm and still has strong support in Iowa for his principled stance.
Omaha World-Herald: As opponents turn up heat, Grassley isn’t budging on Merrick Garland nomination
“And Grassley reiterated that hearings or votes on Garland’s nomination are not imminent. He and most other Senate Republicans have stuck to their position that the Senate should not hold hearings or votes on President Barack Obama’s pick to fill the vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death earlier this year. The GOP senators call for waiting until the next president takes office. Democrats have been trying for months to turn up the heat on Grassley and his fellow Republicans, saying they are failing to do their jobs…The Judicial Crisis Network held a conference call with reporters Wednesday featuring Iowans who back Grassley’s position, including attorney Brenna Bird. She said that putting Garland on the court would produce the most liberal majority on the court in 50 years — one that could endure for a generation. ‘It would be a major shift to the left, something that I think America doesn’t want,’ Bird said. ‘Sen. Grassley knows this and he knows the appointment is important and the American people should be part of that decision.’”
- The Great Falls Tribune’s Christopher Doering writes that DSCC Chairman and Montana Senator Jon Tester will not commit to supporting President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
Great Falls Tribune: Tester deciding whether to back Garland for Supreme Court
“Sen. Jon Tester met with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland Thursday, but said he hasn’t decided whether to support him. ‘Quite frankly, I don’t think you can make that decision for such an important position in a half hour, 45-minute meeting,’ Tester told reporters. ‘I’m going to need more information. I am not done vetting Judge Garland’…Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said he does not plan to meet with Garland. ‘I will oppose any hearing or votes for President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court,” he said.”
- The Washington Times’ Dave Boyer writes that in his unsolicited questionnaire, the cases cited by Merrick Garland as his most important rulings showed his liberal views.
Washington Times: Merrick Garland cites most important cases that favor mostly liberal view
“Conflicting with the White House’s portrayal of him as a moderate, Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland detailed his most significant cases to Congress Tuesday in a list that includes victories for mostly liberal causes. Judge Garland cited among his most important rulings those favoring labor rights, environmental protection involving an endangered species of toad, a criminal case in which the defendant prevailed, and campaign-finance law…His selection of his most significant opinions includes one case in which he voted to throw out a criminal conviction for a drug trafficker, a dissenting opinion in which he would have permitted lawsuits against private contractors over allegations of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and another that sided with an Uighur detainee at the Guantanamo Bay military prison who challenged his status as an ‘enemy combatant.’”
