Retired federal Judge Thomas Griffith, a Latter-day Saint convert, spoke on behalf of his former colleague, Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, on the first day of her confirmation hearings this week.
in 2020, spoke on behalf of his former colleague, Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, on the first day of her confirmation hearings this week.
“Some think it noteworthy that a former judge nominated by a Republican president would enthusiastically endorse a nominee to the Supreme Court by a Democratic president,” said Griffith, former general counsel for Brigham Young University. “That reaction is a measure of the dangerous hyperpartisanship that has seeped into every nook and cranny of our nation’s life and against which the framers of our Constitution warned us.
There was a time “not so long ago when bipartisan support of the president’s nomination of a highly qualified jurist was regular order,” Griffith added Monday. “Antonin Scalia was confirmed by the Senate 98 to nothing. Ruth Bader Ginsburg by a vote of 96 to 3.” An “indispensable feature of the republic the Constitution created is an independent judiciary of judges who have taken an oath,” he said, “not to a president or to a people, but to the American people.”“Mormon Land” podcastThere is no “Mormon approach to judging,” Griffith said. “When you take the oath of office to be a judge, your oath is to the Constitution and the laws of the United States. And that’s your primary obligation.
Latter-day Saints have a “special obligation to help lead the country out of it,” Griffith said. “If we’re going to do that, we’re not going to do it by doubling down on our prior political biases.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
WATCH: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Full Introductory SpeechJudge Ketanji Brown Jackson addressed the Senate Judiciary Committee during the first hearing on her nomination for Supreme Court.
Read more »
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson takeaways: History made, GOP vows no 'spectacle'Democrats have the potential votes in the 50-50 Senate to confirm Jackson, to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, even if all Republicans are opposed.
Read more »
Opinion | On the Slimy GOP Smears Against Judge Ketanji Brown JacksonThat Jackson will be the first public defender to be a Supreme Court justice should be celebrated, not attacked.
Read more »
Philadelphians watch as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson seeks to make history on Supreme CourtJudge Ketanji Brown Jackson could be confirmed with a simple democratic majority. But even that won't shield her from tough questioning, which Republicans hinted they'll ask.
Read more »
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearings: What happened MondayDemocrats are hoping to finish Jackson's confirmation process before Congress leaves for Easter recess April 11.
Read more »
High History and Low Politics on Day One of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Confirmation HearingVoices from the G.O.P.’s far-right wing appeared determined to use Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s hearing for both their pursuits in the culture war and their own political ambitions.
Read more »