Litigation

Garland: ?Easily Confirmable? Pick for High Court

By Peter Hardin

Judge Merrick Garland of the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., often falls behind two female front-runners when he’s mentioned as a possible pick to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens.

But in another way he’s out front: His longtime efforts to make himself a better lawyer may distinguish him as “the most easily confirmable candidate” on the short list, according to a Bloomberg profile.

Here are highlights from the profile of Judge Garland:

• He asked for and got the assignment to supervise the federal prosecution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
• As a federal appeals court judge he has a reputation for respecting precedent over 13 years.
• Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah remarked that if Judge Garland were nominated, he could be confirmed “virtually unanimously.”
• A Harvard Law graduate, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice William Brennan and told the Senate Judiciary Judiciary Committee his most admired justices were Thurgood Marshall and Oliver Wendell Holmes.
• In a notable decision, he threw out enemy combatant status for a Chinese detainee at Guantanamo Bay; his opinion outright mocked the government’s view it had adequate evidence with three documents containing allegations.

Meanwhile National Law Journal offered a useful chart comparing “What the Supreme Court Contenders Would Bring to the Court.”

In other articles tied to Justice Stevens’ retirement and President Obama’s preparing to fill the vacancy, the Associated Press reported on Justice Stevens marking his 90th birthday. He became the second justice to do so while sitting on the court.

In the Los Angeles Times, Christopher L. Eisgruber of Princeton University characterized Justice Stevens as the last of the “pre-Roe” justices–that is, he was selected before the abortion debate changed the way justices are appointed.

There are more articles and commentaries about Justice Stevens’ legacy and nomination politics available from Gavel Grab’s media summary and also from Justice at Stake’s Web page for judicial nomination news.

Full post as published by The Gavel on April 20, 2010 (boomark / email).