Obama says high court pick respected on ‘both sides of the aisle’

WASHINGTON, DC, USA – President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday, March 16, his nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, praising the judge as a brilliant legal mind respected on “both sides of the aisle.”

Garland, 63, has won the respect of Republicans and Democrats, Obama said, insisting the Supreme Court should remain “above politics” as he urged Congress to give his nomination serious consideration.

“I’ve selected a nominee who is widely recognized, not only as one of America’s sharpest legal minds, but someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency, modesty, integrity, even-handedness and excellence,” Obama said.

He made the announcement in the White House Rose Garden with Garland at his side.

Little known to the US public, Garland is the chief judge of the US court of Appeals for the DC District, and held out by Obama as “uniquely prepared to serve” in the Supreme Court after the vacancy left by the death of justice Antonin Scalia.

Recounting a stellar career as a prosecutor and judge, Obama said he had a track record “of building consensus as a thoughtful, fair-minded judge who follows the law.”

“I said I would take this process seriously and I did. I chose a serious man and an exemplary judge, Merrick Garland,” he said. – Rappler.com