- Posted January 20, 2017
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Garland returns to the bench as judge, not justice
By Jessica Gresko
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Merrick Garland, the judge nominated by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court, made his return to the courtroom on Wednesday to hear cases as a federal appeals court judge, not a Supreme Court justice.
Garland, the chief judge of the District of Columbia Circuit, stopped hearing cases last March after he was nominated to fill the seat of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last February. But after Republicans blocked his confirmation, it was announced in mid-December that he'd again begin hearing federal appeals court cases.
President-elect Donald Trump is now expected to announce his own nomination to the court within the two weeks of his inauguration on today.
There was no mention during nearly three hours of argument on Wednesday that it was Garland's first day back on the bench in 11 months.
The three judges hearing the cases entered the courtroom following the call of "oyez, oyez, oyez," the same call to order used at the Supreme Court. But there was no confusing the small courtroom, in the same building as the federal district court and along the parade route Trump will pass today, with the Supreme Court.
The judges enter from a doorway, not through red velvet curtains. Nameplates remind lawyers the names of the judges they are addressing.
The two judges sitting with Garland on Wednesday have also been mentioned as possible future nominees to the Supreme Court, though by different parties.
Judge Sri Srinivasan, appointed by President Obama in 2013, has been mentioned as a possible nominee by a Democratic president. Judge Brett Kavanaugh, named by President George W. Bush in 2006, has been mentioned as a possible Republican nominee, though he is not one of 21 potential nominees listed by Trump.
One subtle reminder of Garland's unsuccessful nomination was literally staring him in the face Wednesday. Among the roughly three dozen people watching the proceedings was one lawyer with a familiar name: Eugene Scalia, a lawyer and one of Justice Scalia's nine children.
Scalia, who represents one of the parties in a case being heard by the court, declined to comment on his case or Garland's return to the bench.
Published: Fri, Jan 20, 2017
headlines Oakland County
- No-Fault Institute
- Ackerman Wins Election To 2nd District Court Of Appeals Seat
- ABA Antitrust Law Section explores Biden record, transition in one-day forum
- ‘Oakland Together Housing Trust Fund’ focus of Virtual Planners Gathering
- Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program calls on lawyers to volunteer for veterans
headlines National
- Judge is accused of using racial slur, vulgar terms and ‘libtard’ label for employee offended by his comments
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Colorado Supreme Court considers whether habeas petition can free zoo elephants
- 4th Circuit upholds $1M sanction for law firm that tried to ‘sabotage’ federal court’s authority
- Don’t give money to law schools unless they teach originalism, conservative federal appeals judge says
- Average BigLaw partner compensation increased 26% in 2 years, reaching this high-water mark