President Obama Looking For Justice Who Will ‘Interpret’ Not ‘Make’ The Law

President Barack Obama passes a portrait of Justice Antonin Scalia after paying respects as Scalia’s body lies in repose at the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., on February 19, 2016.

In nine minutes, President Obama artfully demolished every obstructionist argument laid forth by Republican Senators who have vowed to deny any potential successor to late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the bench even a customary hearing, let alone a vote of consent.

There are a few controversial cases being brought to the Supreme Court in the near future. It’s also one of the most important decisions that a president will make.

As an aside, this Republican for more than 50 years thinks the party should push President Barack Obama to nominate an acceptable moderate.

All 11 Republican members of the Judiciary Committee signed a letter Tuesday saying that they would not move forward on any nomination made by Obama.

Scalia was arguably one of the most influential justices on the Supreme Court for the last generation, said Alec Walen, a professor in the Department of Philosophy and undergraduate director of the Rutgers School of Law.

Aside from “mastery of the law”, Obama said he wants to choose a nominee who understands “a judge’s job is to interpret the law, not make the law”.

The president then says he is aware of times when the law is ambiguous – times when justices must use his or her own perspective, ethics, and judgment – so he said he looks for a candidate that has “a keen understanding that justice is not about abstract legal theory, nor some footnote in a dusty casebook”. I’ve talked to many of them, and I’ve told them I’m sympathetic.

Chelsea Price, a School of Arts and Sciences alumna who studied criminal justice and psychology, said people today are hardwired to question everything they see or hear, which could be the root of the suspicion. And if they are qualified, let the American people decide whether there’s enough time for the U.S. Senate to hold hearings and have a vote. I’d bet even he would have a hard time backing the current Republican play.