Jill Stein 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 Jill Stein and the 2016 Green Party Platform said about the Supreme Court vacancy.
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
Stein on the Supreme Court vacancy
- During the second presidential election debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Stein joined Democracy Now! to answer the same questions as Clinton and Trump. Democracy Now! asked, "What would you prioritize as the most important aspect of selecting a Supreme Court justice?" Stein replied, "We very much need Supreme Court justices who are ready to stand up for everyday people. And that means to end the stranglehold that big money has on our political system. So that means not only overturning Citizens United, but supporting the fact that money is not speech and that corporations are not people. In addition, we need strong support for our rights as voters, which are being encroached on by voter ID laws terribly. And we need to support the constitutional right to vote, and ensure that there is positive and continuous support for that right to vote, which is very much under threat. And in addition, the Supreme Court needs to be strongly in support of women’s rights, the rights of immigrants, workers’ rights and LGBTQ rights."[11]
- According to a Stein's 2016 presidential campaign website, "Stein said if elected President, she would seek to reinstate the administrative protections against such deportations and appoint a US Supreme Court Justice that would uphold the constitution and protect the needs of average people."[12]
- On July 9, 2014, Stein wrote on her Facebook page, "If they're offended by the sexist Supreme Court Hobby Lobby decision, the President (and future candidates) should start with a pledge to appoint women only to the bench until we reach gender parity."[13]
- According to a 2012 Huffington Post candidate profile, Stein "would appoint Supreme Court justices who believe corporations are corporations, not people, and fight to get corporate money and influence out of the political process."[14]
- Read what other presidential candidates said about the Supreme Court vacancy.
| The 2016 Green Party Platform on the Supreme Court |
|---|
| The 2016 Green Party Platform does not specifically mention the Supreme Court.[15] |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Jill + Stein + Supreme + Court + Vacancy
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Democracy Now, "Green Party’s Jill Stein Announces She Is Running for President," June 22, 2015
- ↑ 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
- ↑ iSideWith.com, "Jill Stein’s political views on scotus," accessed October 17, 2016
- ↑ Democracy Now!, "Expanding the Debate: Jill Stein Spars with Clinton & Trump in Democracy Now! Special - Part 2," October 10, 2016
- ↑ Jill Stein for President, "Jill Stein Opposes Supreme Court on Immigration," accessed October 17, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "Jill Stein," July 9, 2014
- ↑ Huffington Post, "President Jill Stein," September 13, 2012
- ↑ Green Party, "The 2016 Green Party Platform," accessed August 23, 2016
