Published 11:14 IST, October 12th 2020
US Supreme Court nominee Barrett vows to 'apply law as written' ahead of Senate hearing
US President Donald Trump’s pick for Supreme Court seat, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, vowed to judge cases based on law regardless of her “own preferences”.
- World News
- 2 min read
US President Donald Trump’s pick for Supreme Court seat, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, vowed to judge cases based on law regardless of her “own preferences”. In prepared remarks released ahead of Senate confirmation hearing, the conservative jurist said that in every case, she has carefully considered arguments presented by parties and done utmost to reach the result “required by the law.”
Trump announced the nomination of Barrett to replace liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a lifetime seat on the top court. The 48-year-old federal appeals court judge is popular among the religious conservatives and anti-abortion campaigners and her appointment could impact some of the most partisan issues of the United States.
“A judge must apply the law as written, not as the judge wishes it were. Sometimes that approach meant reaching results that he did not like. But as he put it in one of his best-known opinions, that is what it means to say we have a government of laws, not of men,” Judge Barrett said.
Confirmation hearing
US Senate Judiciary Committee is set to open a confirmation hearing to consider the nomination of Judge Barrett for Supreme Court seat on October 12. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, the chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee, has welcomed the “outstanding” nomination of Judge Barrett, saying she is highly qualified in all the areas that matter – character, integrity, intellect, and judicial disposition.
“As the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I’m very committed to ensuring that the nominee gets a challenging, fair, and respectful hearing,” Graham said in a statement.
Democrats have objected the hurried nomination of Judge Barrett and called on Republicans to wait till elections scheduled for November 3. White House hopeful Joe Biden stressed that no Supreme Court justice has been nominated and installed during presidential elections in the history of the United States, accusing Trump of rushing the process to eliminate Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, in the middle of a pandemic.
Updated 11:13 IST, October 12th 2020