NYSBA Urges U.S. Senate Not To Rush Supreme Court Confirmation for Political Expediency
9.23.2020
The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) passed a resolution today urging the U.S. Senate to fully and fairly review a nominee to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg “with due care and deliberation and on a timetable not driven by political considerations.”
“We must protect the credibility and legitimacy of our highest court,” said NYSBA President Scott M. Karson. “The time left before the election may not be enough to fairly and publicly investigate President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. The process cannot be shortchanged for political expediency.”
Justice Ginsburg died on Sept. 18, just 46 days before the presidential election. The President has said he is very close to making a decision about a nominee to replace her and will likely make his choice public in the coming days. Senators – even those previously viewed as potential holdouts against a nomination process so close to the election – have signaled their support for a vote prior to Nov. 3.
The resolution reads in part: “The New York State Bar Association urges that the process for selecting a new Associate Justice of the Supreme Court proceed with due care and deliberation and on a timetable not driven by political considerations so as to ensure that the record of any proposed new member of the Supreme Court will be fully and fairly reviewed and investigated publicly in order to protect the credibility and legitimacy of our highest court.”
Below is the entire text:
WHEREAS, the death of United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, 2020 has saddened all who believe in the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary;
WHEREAS, Justice Ginsburg was a trailblazing jurist, the second and longest tenured woman to serve on the Supreme Court, who before her elevation argued before the Court six times – winning five of those cases, and throughout her career advancing principles of equality in our society;
WHEREAS, the New York State Bar Association extends its deepest sympathies on her passing to Justice Ginsburg’s family, the members of the Supreme Court, her current and former clerks, the staff of the Supreme Court and her many friends;
WHEREAS, the average time to confirm an Associate Justice is 71 days in the modern era;
WHEREAS, selection of an Associate Justice is a matter of national concern and debate; and
WHEREAS, the process for selecting an Associate Justice is crucial to the perception that as the final arbiter of the law, the Supreme Court and the individual justices are engaged in the equal and blind application of the law to the facts, such that any effort to politicize the selection and confirmation of a member of the Supreme Court will impair the credibility, legitimacy, authenticity and fidelity of its decisions.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS
RESOLVED, that the New York State Bar Association urges that the process for selecting a new Associate Justice of the Supreme Court proceed with due care and deliberation and on a timetable not driven by political considerations so as to ensure that the record of any proposed new member of the Supreme Court will be fully and fairly reviewed and investigated publicly in order to protect the credibility and legitimacy of our highest Court, and be it further
RESOLVED, that the President of the Association is hereby directed to transmit this resolution to all appropriate authorities and take such other and further action as may be required to implement this resolution.
About the New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Since 1876, NYSBA has helped shape the development of law, educated and informed the legal profession and the public, and championed the rights of New Yorkers through advocacy and guidance in our communities.
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Contact: Christian Nolan
cnolan@nysba.org
518-487-5536
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