He has supported conservative criminal justice measures, and has disagreed with more overtly liberal colleagues on the D.C. Court of Appeals on the issue, often siding with the government and voting against criminal appeals.Clinton appointed him to Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1997.Gearing up for a bruising nomination battle in Congress, President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated centrist jurist Merrick B. Garland to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, a month after the conservative justice was found dead at a Texas ranch.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) told Newsmax on Friday that President Obama wouldn’t nominate a “moderate” like Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. President Barack Obama’s nominee to succeed the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland, is said to be a good, reasonable pick because he is a judicial “moderate.” “Based on the clerks he has hired, there is good reason to think that Garland is not as liberal as some believe and would in fact be the most moderate member of the court’s liberal bloc.” – Political scientists on how confirming Merrick Garland could alter the balance of the Supreme Court But Garland is about as close to a consensus nominee as the president could have made.Garland, who is the chief judge on the powerful Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, is a consummate Washington insider. Garland had long been considered a prime prospect for the high … | AP PhotoWhile Garland is considered well within the mainstream of Democratic judges, he is seen as leaning toward the government in criminal cases and has repeatedly split with liberal colleagues on the D.C. circuit on such appeals.Garland's record in national security cases is more murky. He considered Garland in 2009 and 2010, but neither of those vacancies was thought to have the potential to tip the court's ideological balance like the current one. While he has a relatively liberal record and would likely side with the liberals on the Court, conservatives have previously praised his cautious, evenhanded opinions, improving the chances that a hostile Republican Senate will confirm Garland less than a year before voters elect a new president. They have no legitimate ability to strike out on their own and rule contrary to Supreme Court jurisprudence on issues that deeply divide our country, although they sometimes do. Merrick Garland, Moderate Jewish Judge, Gets Supreme Court Nod — Republicans Push Back Julia Edwards March 16, 2016 The following year, the Supreme Court effectively overruled that decision in a 6-3 ruling. This is in part because Garland’s credentials — degrees from Harvard University, work as … A native of the Chicago area, Garland attended Harvard University for his undergraduate and legal education. It remains to be seen whether his more moderate record will be enough to placate the Republican senators who have publicly vowed to stall any nomination until after the general election in November. In 1997, when Clinton first nominated him for the D.C. Court of Appeals, Senator Orrin Hatch, a rock-ribbed Republican from Utah, called Garland “not only a fine nominee, but as good as Republicans can expect from the administration.” In 2010, Hatch said there was “no question” Garland could be confirmed.On the bench, Garland has avoided taking controversial ideological stances in his opinions. In many ways, Merrick Garland was a safe choice for President Obama to nominate to the Supreme Court. But will they find Garland harder to oppose based on his record as a moderate centrist? Circuit in 1997. However, many lawyers say the 2003 decision was correct under the precedents at the time, which only the Supreme Court justices had the power to recast.Despite Garland’s nearly two decades on the federal bench, his views on some of the highest profile issues the Supreme Court wrestles with are largely a mystery.Before picking Garland for the vacancy caused by Justice Antonin Scalia's unexpected death last month, Obama passed over the appeals court judge twice. He is certainly not an ideological warrior in the vein of Antonin Scalia. It remains to be seen whether his more moderate record will be enough to placate the Republican senators who have publicly vowed to stall any nomination until after the general election in November. “The record evidence is insufficient to support the Tribunal’s determination,” Garland wrote.A moderate and politically connected judge, Garland has been on Democratic Supreme Court shortlists since he was confirmed to the D.C. Obama announced his decision in the Rose Garden Wednesday morning. An influential small-business group on Tuesday rated Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland as anti-business and biased in favor of government regulators, dealing a … At the very least, it will deprive Republicans of a talking point that Obama’s nominee is too liberal.Looks like you’re using a browser we don’t support.As such, Garland’s some of his most prominent allies come from across the aisle.