Gary Johnson presidential campaign, 2016/Supreme Court vacancy
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On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama announced Merrick Garland as his nominee to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the United States Supreme Court.[2] At the time of his nomination, Garland was serving as chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He joined the court in 1997 after being nominated by former President Bill Clinton.[3]
In 2010, Garland was considered a front-runner for nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States following the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens. Justice Elena Kagan was chosen instead.[4]
Justice Scalia died on February 13, 2016, at 79 years of age. A member of the U.S. Supreme Court for three decades, Scalia was considered "a champion of originalism" and the dominant conservative voice of the Court.[5][6]
His unexpected death created a vacancy in the Supreme Court. Several members of the U.S. Senate quickly made public comments on whether President Barack Obama (D) should nominate a replacement. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said, "The American people deserve to have a fully functioning Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States is too important to our democracy for it to be understaffed for partisan reasons. It is only February. The president and the Senate should get to work without delay to nominate, consider and confirm the next justice to serve on the Supreme Court.”[6]
Some leading Republicans suggested that the individual elected to the presidency in November 2016 should have the right to make the nomination. U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement: "The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president."[7] A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Conn Carroll, tweeted, "What is less than zero? The chances of Obama successfully appointing a Supreme Court Justice to replace Scalia?"[8]
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) charged, "It would be unprecedented in recent history for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacant seat. Failing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senate's most essential Constitutional responsibilities."[9]
See below what Gary Johnson and the 2016 Libertarian Party Platform said about the Supreme Court vacancy.
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
Johnson on the Supreme Court vacancy
- Johnson released a list of potential Supreme Court nominees he would consider if elected president. Johnson said in a statement, “I have made clear that I believe the Supreme Court should be guided by a loyalty to the original and fundamental principles of limited government and liberty embodied in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As president, when the opportunity arises, I will nominate justices who have proven records of demonstrating that loyalty to the Constitution.” The list included the following:[10]
- Alex Kozinski, circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
- Randy Barnett, director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution.
- Janice Rogers Brown, D.C. Circuit Court judge and former California Supreme Court justice.
- Tom Campbell, former member of Congress and dean of the Chapman University School of Law.
- Miguel Estrada, partner at the Washington, D.C., law office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
- Jonathan Turley, professor at George Washington University Law School
- During an appearance on C-SPAN on October 11, 2016, a viewer asked what Johnson's top considerations would be for a Supreme Court justice. Johnson responded by releasing his short list for filling the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Johnson said, "At the top of that list is Jonathan Turley from George Washington University and Tom Campbell who is the dean of Chapman University." Johnson said he would fill the vacancy with someone who views the Constitution "from the perspective of original intent."[11]
- In a July 25, 2016, Reason.com interview, Nick Gillespie asked Johnson and his running mate Bill Weld, "The Supreme Court looms large in everybody's political calculations. Who are the Supreme Court picks you're going to make?" Johnson replied, "Really, there are going to be no litmus test. You're going to appoint good people, and you're going appoint people that look at the Constitution of original intent." Weld added, "Well, I don't think you have to panic and say it has to be a way lefty or way righty. Steve Breyer has been a good justice. He was appointed by Democrats."[12]
- In the same Reason.com interview, Weld commented on President Obama's nominee Merrick Garland. Weld said, "Merrick Garland, I think, would have been a very good pick, and he's nominated by Obama. Everyone sort of agrees on that. It's just the two party hysteria that says, "Just as you can have far-right congressmen in the Republican Party and far-left congressmen, congresswomen in the Democratic Party, therefore the same is true for the Supreme Court." The opposite is the case. You want people who are tranquil of mind and can analyze the issues and come to a conclusion that makes sense, rooted in the jurisprudence of our country going back hundreds of years."[12]
- In a phone interview with ProCon.org on June 14, 2016, Johnson was asked, "Should Supreme Court Justice Scalia's replacement be chosen by President Obama?" Johnson replied, ""[T]hey should hold hearings on Obama's nominee. It's Obama's duty to provide that nomination and I think that Congress should follow through on that, which obviously they are not."[13]
| The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform on the Supreme Court |
|---|
| The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform does not specifically mention the Supreme Court.[14] |
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Reason.com, "Gary Johnson To Announce He's Running for President Today," January 6, 2016
- ↑ NPR, "President Obama To Announce Merrick Garland As Supreme Court Nominee," accessed March 16, 2016
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, "Merrick B. Garland," accessed August 22, 2013
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Profiles of three possible successors to Justice John Paul Stevens," April 10, 2010
- ↑ The New York Times, "Justice Antonin Scalia, Who Led a Conservative Renaissance on the Supreme Court, Is Dead at 79," February 13, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Hill, "Justice Antonin Scalia dead," February 13, 2016
- ↑ CNBC, "U.S. Senate leader McConnell says wait on replacing Scalia," February 13, 2016
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Conservatives Quickly Refuse Any Obama Court Replacement After Antonin Scalia's Death," February 13, 2016
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Harry Reid To Republicans: You Better Not Block Us From Replacing Scalia," February 13, 2016
- ↑ Washington Examiner, "Gary Johnson unveils potential SCOTUS pick list," November 1, 2016
- ↑ C-SPAN, "Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee Gary Johnson," October 11, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Reason.com, "Gary Johnson and William Weld on Hillary, Trump, and Why You Should Vote Libertarian," July 25, 2016
- ↑ ProCon.org, "Should Supreme Court Justice Scalia's Replacement Be Chosen by President Obama?" accessed October 18, 2016
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform," accessed August 23, 2016
