Supreme Court nominee returns to bench as judge, not justice

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Jessica Gresko, Associated Press Updated 5:23 pm, Wednesday, January 18, 2017


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 in March after he was nominated to fill the seat of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 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 Friday.

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.

Read more: Link to source

[tenorly]

1. Trump will instead shove Torquemada through - or better yet, Judge Roy Bean.

Torquemada is a Spanish name, and might upset the Trumpkins.

[Tanuki]

2. Mel Brooks..."you can't torquemada anything!"

https://m.

[tenorly]

3. Mel Brooks, if you're reading this,

We need a Trump musical from you, buddy!

[dem4decades]

4. "Where' the dumb voters at?"

[murielm99]

5. At first, I thought it might be better coming from

Andrew Lloyd Webber. But he is actually a member of Britain's Conservative Party. He may not mind Trump so much.

Trump's story is not over yet. I hope it ends soon, in ignominy and terrible defeat. That would be best for the country.

Hubris. We have to wait for it. Then it can be written.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Judge Garland was a solid pick

and a pawn in the GOP game of stealing the seat

What if every business came to a crawl on some things?

And refused to move certain items?