{"id":109077,"date":"2020-10-26T08:33:54","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T15:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=109077"},"modified":"2020-10-26T08:33:54","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T15:33:54","slug":"senate-advances-one-of-the-most-qualified-nominees-for-judicial-service-that-we-have-seen-in-our-lifetimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=109077","title":{"rendered":"Senate Advances \u201cOne of the Most Qualified Nominees for Judicial Service that We Have Seen in our Lifetimes\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks yesterday on the Senate floor regarding Judge Amy Coney Barrett:  \u201cQuote: \u2018Few men [in] society\u2026 will have sufficient skill in the laws to qualify them for the stations of judges\u2026 [And] the number must be still smaller of those who unite the requisite integrity with the requisite knowledge.\u2019 \u201cThat was Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist 78.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"ls_embed_1603726083\" src=\"https:\/\/livestream.com\/accounts\/300260\/events\/9323064\/player?width=640&#038;height=360&#038;enableInfoAndActivity=true&#038;defaultDrawer=&#038;autoPlay=true&#038;mute=false\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen> <\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe framers knew the independent judiciary would be a crucial part of this new experiment in self-government. If the separation of powers was to endure and the people\u2019s rights were to be safe, we would need individuals of the highest quality on the courts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow fortunate for our country that the Senate just advanced one of the most qualified nominees for judicial service that we have seen in our lifetimes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJudge Amy Coney Barrett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a stellar nominee in every respect. Her intellectual brilliance is unquestioned. Her command of the law is remarkable. Her integrity is above reproach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst as an award-winning academic and then as a circuit judge, she has worked her way up to the pinnacle of the law. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut just as importantly, Judge Barrett has displayed zero willingness to impose personal views or clumsily craft new policy with her gavel. She has demonstrated the judicial humility, the neutrality, and the commitment to our written Constitution that are essential for this office.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy now, as tends to happen by the ends of these processes, the Senate knows Judge Barrett very well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenators saw the Judiciary Committee put the nominee through her paces with days of exhaustive questioning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been able to study nearly 100 opinions she has issued in three years on the federal bench.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve had another opportunity to examine the 15 years of scholarly writings that most of us reviewed three years ago, when Judge Barrett won bipartisan confirmation to her current job. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd we\u2019ve been deluged by personal testimonials from every corner of Judge Barrett\u2019s career and life to confirm just what a remarkable person this nominee is.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of Judge Barrett\u2019s former colleagues at Notre Dame is a leading expert in comparative constitutional law. That means he studies the courts and constitutions of countries all around the world. He meets judges from across the planet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere\u2019s what this expert says about his colleague: \u2018I have had very many occasions to meet, observe, and work with high court judges from all over the world, from Argentina to Austria\u2026 from South Africa to South Korea\u2026 [and] I can say with great certainty that Judge Barrett stands out, on a par in her abilities with the most distinguished\u201d of them all.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says her legal work is \u2018as erudite as it [is] clear and accessible,\u2019 and \u2018as honest and fair-minded\u2026 as anyone could aspire to, with not a hint of personal bias.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of us would be thrilled to receive such praise once or twice in our whole career. But Judge Barrett seems to provoke this reaction in everyone. The highest professional compliments seem to be the default reaction from anybody who crosses her path.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEighty-one of her law school classmates from \u2018diverse backgrounds, political affiliations, and philosophies\u201d say the nominee embodies \u201cthe highest caliber of intellect\u2026 fairmindedness, empathy, integrity, humility, good humor, and commitment to justice.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey also said \u2018as fellow students, we often learned more from Amy than the professor.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Three years ago, more than 70 fellow scholars wrote the Senate calling her scholarship \u2018careful,\u2019 \u2018rigorous [and] fair-minded.\u2019 They said her \u2018personal integrity\u2019 earns wide respect.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd every one of the Supreme Court alumni who clerked alongside Judge Barrett wrote us to share their \u2018unanimous\u2019 view that she is a \u2018woman of remarkable intellect and character.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat clerkship came about, by the way, after one of her professors who is now a university president wrote Justice Scalia with one sentence: \u2018Amy Coney is the best student I ever had.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA few weeks ago, Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman \u2014 who leans left \u2014 wrote that Judge Barrett is \u201ca brilliant and conscientious lawyer who will analyze and decide cases in good faith.\u201d He said she \u2018meets and exceeds\u2019 the \u2018basic criteria for being a good Justice.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo wonder that for all the acrimony that has swirled around this process, nobody has even attempted to dispute Judge Barrett\u2019s qualifications.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo the contrary \u2014 it seems no one can help being impressed. At one point during Judge Barrett\u2019s hearing, she was asked about an arcane legal doctrine. Her answer was so clear and so accessible that one of our Democratic colleagues had to remark: \u2018that\u2019s quite a definition. I\u2019m really impressed.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo are the American people. <\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome opponents of this nomination come right out and say, quote, \u2018it\u2019s not about qualifications.\u2019 They say they aren\u2019t interested in whether Judge Barrett will smartly and faithfully apply our laws and Constitution. Instead, they want to make apocalyptic predictions about policy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a few problems here.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne is that their political side has been shopping the same horror stories for fifty years. They\u2019ve been saying the same thing for half a century about every Supreme Court nominee by a Republican president. Without exception.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd many of those judges, not to the delight of some people on this side of the aisle, went on to not disappoint the other side. Which shows you how hazardous it is to predict what someone will be for a lifetime. Many have been surprised, some unpleasantly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s almost if jurists are not politicians with policy platforms. It\u2019s almost as though that\u2019s the wrong way to look at this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the deeper misunderstanding at play here. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me quote an expert: \u2018A judge must apply the law as written, not as she wishes it were.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cScalia used to put it this way. He said, \u2018if you want to make policy, why don\u2019t you run for office? That\u2019s not what we do here. That\u2019s not our job.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt takes a great deal of discipline to squeeze your personal opinions out of your decision making. That\u2019s the kind of judges we\u2019ve been confirming here for the last four years. People who are sworn to uphold the law \u2014 and take it seriously.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Obama once said he wanted to appoint judges who had empathy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThink about it for a minute. If you are the litigant for whom the judge has empathy, you are probably in pretty good shape. But what if you aren\u2019t?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not what we\u2019ve been doing here for the last four years on the judiciary. And the reason that frightens these guys on the other side so much is because that\u2019s exactly what they want: Another branch of legislators seeking outcomes that may or may not be reflected in the law or Constitution that\u2019s before them. That\u2019s exactly what they want.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuote: \u2018Courts have a vital responsibility to enforce the rule of law, which is critical to a free society. But the policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the People. The public should not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat, of course, was Judge Barrett. She understands the separation of powers far more keenly than her critics. She understands the job of a judge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur Democratic colleagues should not have tried to filibuster this exceptional nominee; they should have listened and learned. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI loved during the hearing when Senator Cornyn said \u2018what do you have on your notepad?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe held it up. Nothing. No notes at all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got three former Supreme Court clerks on that committee \u2013 Senator Cruz, Senator Hawley, and Senator Lee. So they\u2019ve been around the best, at the highest level. Nobody has seen anything better than this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is something to really be proud of and feel good about. We\u2019ve made an important contribution to the future of this country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of what we\u2019ve done over the last four years will be done, sooner or later, by the next election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the other side won\u2019t be able to do much about this for a long time to come. And fortunately for Judge Barrett and for our nation, history will remember what is already clear: The deficiency is with their judgment, not hers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Senate is doing the right thing. We\u2019re moving this nomination forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy tomorrow night, we\u2019ll have a new member of the United States Supreme Court.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks yesterday on the Senate floor regarding Judge Amy Coney Barrett: \u201cQuote: \u2018Few men [in] society\u2026 will have sufficient skill in the laws to qualify them for the stations of judges\u2026 [And] the number must be still smaller of those who unite the requisite [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,16,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-law-enforcement","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Fullscreen-capture-10262020-83223-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/109078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=109077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=109077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}