- Joined
- Jan 24, 2013
- Messages
- 20,738
- Reaction score
- 6,290
- Location
- Sunnyvale California
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Liberal
President Barack Obama's embattled choice for the Supreme Court — D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland — did something Thursday that's highly unusual for judicial nominees: he delivered a public speech.
Making an unannounced appearance at an annual breakfast that the federal courts hold to salute Washington law firms active in pro bono work, the veteran jurist paid tribute to lawyers who contribute time to public causes and he linked that work to his own biography. It's the kind of address that's relatively common for a sitting judge to make, but one that previous high-profile court nominees have studiously avoided.
In a roughly five-minute speech to about 100 lawyers and judges gathered in the atrium of the federal courthouse in the shadow of the Capitol, Garland said "their and your commitment to public service and the law is the same commitment that has shaped the choices that I have made throughout my career."
He added that by "helping to provide access to justice for the underprivileged all of you are helping to shore up the rule of the law that is the foundation of a just society."
Garland speech may signal new phase in confirmation effort - POLITICO
Since Garland has been denied senate hearings, the judge has apparently decided to use other means of presenting the case for his nomination.