Obama’s nomination Merrick Garland for SCOTUS a good choice
When President Obama announced his nomination for the Supreme Court, I immediately gave a nod of approval. Merrick Garland, chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit would fill the vacant seat left by deceased judge Antonin Scalia.
I’m very pleased with the President’s nomination. Obama has called him “one of America’s sharpest legal minds.” Garland’s a well-known figure in Washington legal circles who has drawn praise from members of both parties. Mr. Obama dared Republican senators to ignore public pressure to make good on their promise to block consideration of any nominee until after the next president is elected.
“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 during a live press conference in the Rose Garden.
Merrick Garland has sided with President Barack Obama’s environmental regulators against mercury-spewing power plants, supported the administration’s crackdown on for-profit colleges and issued multiple rulings that pleased organized labor.
Garland 63, a Chicago native and Harvard graduate has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals since 1997.
Republican senators will continue trying to stall Obama’s appointment. The country has too many important cases left open. Garland will make the right choices. It’s now the Republican senate’s job to do so too.
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President Obama has Constitutional Right to make SCOTUS Justice Recommendation
The recent death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has sparked a huge legal battle in the country right now.
With his passing, a lot of Senate Republicans are saying they would like to wait until a new President is elected to decide the new justice. Senate Republicans have once again made it their priority to usurp the authority of the President once more.
It’s disrespectful to the seat of the President of the United States. Their main excuse to try to block President Obama from filling Scalia’s seat is because he’s about to be out of office within the next few months.
President Obama still has eleven months in office, from now through January 20, 2017. That’s a lot of time left in his term. Other Presidents have appointed Justices with less time left in office.
As the sitting U.S. President, President Obama has the constitutional right to make a recommendation to Congress.
The POTUS has had the responsibility to appoint a Justice to the Supreme Court every time — and any time — there is a vacancy on the bench. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution — known as the Appointments Clause — is unambiguous about these roles and responsibilities:
President Obama shouldn’t have to leave the decision to the next administration. The opposition is just another stall tactic Congress is using. They’ve been doing this throughout the President’s term.
They did the same thing when he nominated Loretta Lynch as the U.S. Attorney General. Congress held her nomination the longest ever in the history of nominations. It took five months for Lynch to be named Attorney General.
It further shows the contempt and disdain they have for President Obama. A replacement needs to be named quickly. There are too many important cases with very critical issues left on the table: abortion, affirmative action, the livelihood of public sector unions and President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
There are highly qualified potential nominees:
D.C. Circuit Judge Sri Srinivasan
U.S. Circuit Judge Paul J. Watford
U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Patricia Ann Millett
U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Merrick Garland
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch
Scalia died February 13, in his sleep. At 79-years-old, he served almost 30 years on the Court. He spent most of his time fighting against affirmative action.
Out of eight members of the Supreme Court, it’s a 4-4 split between conservatives and liberals. President Obama’s decision would make the Supreme Court a liberal court. Currently, in the case of a tie, we won’t have a ruling.
These decisions will shape America for years to come. It’s important Senate Republicans to put their ulterior motives aside and let the President nominate a new Supreme Court justice. It’s important that after 30 years we need to see change. Or Americans will suffer.
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Texas did no wrong in rejection of Confederate flag license plate, SCOTUS rules
The Supreme Court of the United States garnered so much attention regarding the American Care Act, same-sex marriages and housing discrimination. And while these decisions affect us all, let’s not forget the one that affects Texas specifically. SCOTUS ruled in June Texas did not violate the First Amendment when it rejected a specialty license plate featuring the Confederate battle flag. Texas offers automobile owners a choice between general-issue and specialty license plates. Those who want a particular specialty plate can propose a specific design. It’s up to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to approve the design and make it available for Texans.
The “stars and bars” is at the forefront of recent controversy resulting from the deaths of nine people in a Charleston, S.C. church. Well, to be honest, it’s always been a controversial topic and the 5-4 decision by SCOTUS was no different. Many in support of the SCOTUS decision may feel the Confederate flag doesn’t represent the United States of America. After all, it was formed after the Confederacy seceded from the Union and had its own president, Jefferson Davis. On the other hand, there are some who feel they just don’t want folks to forget from whence they came.
That’s no problem, except there are those who use the flag as a symbol of hate or disdain for other races. In a South Carolina shooting that resulted in the deaths of nine church members, the alleged shooter was seen in photos donning the Confederate flag and supporting apartheid. While the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, the Fourteenth Amendment protects citizens from overzealous proponents of hate.
I commend SCOTUS on its decision and the State of Texas in the decisions to reject a specialty flag featuring the stars and bars. Dialogs about race, hate and civil rights start with decisions such as these.
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