Yes or No

Merrick Garland

President Obama has spoken.  This morning he announced Merrick Garland as his nominee for the vacancy on the Supreme Court.  It's hard to find fault with this nomination unless you're a right wing Republican.

In 2010 Senator Orin Hatch, Republican of Utah, urged President Obama to name Merrick Garland to the position Justice Elena Kagan now holds on the court.  At that time Senator Hatch said Garland was a "consensus nominee" who would win Senate confirmation.  It will be interesting to see what Senator Hatch says today.

If approved, and I expect that to happen, the court will be made up of 4 Jewish and 5 Catholics, all educated at Harvard or Yale.

If you're tired of following the Presidential race news you might find it interesting to follow the process of this nomination.

SCOTUSblog is an app for your phone.  I have it on my phone but didn't find an app for iPad.

There's also a Twitter feed to follow, SCOTUS Nomination @SCOTUSnom.

Diversity on the Supreme Court

Justice Scalia continues to amaze me.  I always thought of him as a right wing conservative curmudgeon.  I found it interesting that before his death he had expressed some changes he'd like to see come to the court and I think his suggestions have merit.

1) The court today is too similar, giving the court the insular quality of a private club or a faculty lounge.

To be sure there is some diversity, it has three women, one of whom is Hispanic.  It also has an African American member.

2) Before the death of Justice Scalia there were nine successful lawyers who studied at Harvard or Yale Law School, all of them.

3) There were three Jews and six Catholics on the court.

4) Four of the nine justices are natives of New York City. "Indeed, every borough but Staten Island was represented.  Justice Scalia was from Queens, Justice Ginsburg is from Brooklyn, Justice Kagan is from Manhattan and Justice Sonia Sotomayor is from the Bronx."

5) "Eight of them grew up in east- and west-coast States.  Only one hails from the vast expanse in-between, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., is from Indiana. Not a single Southwesterner or a genuine Westerner (California does not count) he said.  Justice Kennedy was born in Sacramento and Justice Breyer in San Francisco."

It will be interesting to watch as President Obama makes his selection for a new Supreme Court Justice.

Supreme Religions

Have you ever thought about the role personal faith may play in the decisions made by the Supreme Court?  I know, I know, they're supposed to be objective.  I also know they voted along party lines in 2000 to put George W. Bush in the White House.

How do you totally separate yourself from your faith? Is that even possible?

Today's court is made up of 3 Jews and 5 Catholics. Since Justice John Paul Stevens retired in 2010, the court, for the first time, has no Protestant member.

Justice Scalia was a very devout Catholic.  I think you see evidence of his faith in his work.  In his dissent from the court's decision on same-sex marriage he addressed some changes he would like to see to the court.  One of those was the religious make-up.

He said "Not a single evangelical Christian (a group that comprises about one quarter of Americans), or even a Protestant of any denomination" sits on the court.  He thought that should change.

You might find it interesting to look at this chart to see the religious make up of Congress.

Now, my question is, how do you accomplish such a thing?  We try very hard to keep the subject of religion out of confirmation hearings. Do you think it should be a consideration when a President is selecting a candidate?