A new job for Clinton can bring a new job for Garland
By Rafael Trujillo 10/24/16
There haven’t been many mentions of Judge Merrick Garland since President Barack Obama nominated him for the vacant chair of the Supreme Court, but a Hillary Clinton presidency can reinstate the possibilities of Garland to succeed Scalia.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February. After his death, the Republican-controlled Senate hasn’t gather to hold hearings and vote on Garland as the new Supreme Court Justice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell believes that Scalia’s chair should be decided by the next president of the United States.
Hillary Clinton hasn’t released a list of judges for the Supreme Court, as her opponent in presidential race Donald Trump did. In case of a Clinton’s presidency, Republicans would seek a vote to appoint Garland to the Supreme Court because Clinton may choose a more liberal nominee. If Donald Trump becomes president, then he would seek for a conservative judge that fulfills the base of the party: anti-abortion, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and avoidance of a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Among her choices, she could choose Sri Srinivasan, an Indian-American serving on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Paul Watford, an African-American on the California-based US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Ketanji Brown Jackson and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger would be the first African-American women justice in the Supreme Court. Joan Biskupic mentioned the names on his article posted in CNN named “Why Merrick Garland Should Keep Hoping.”
A Democrat Senate would allow Clinton to nominate any of the mentioned nominees, but it will also create tension by disavowing Obama’s nominee, Garland.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that she could retire in the near future. She is the eldest active justice, 83. Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy, 80, and Stephen Breyer, 78, may also retire in the upcoming years. If she wins, Clinton will nominee a Supreme Court Justice. According to Ginsburg, “she’s bound to have a few appointments in her tem.”