The President of the United States of America, Barack Obama has chosen Merrick Garland as his nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States..Garland, 63, was picked over fellow judge of the Court of Appeals, DC Circuit, Sri Srinivasan to fill in the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia..After graduating magna-cum-laude from Harvard Law School, Garland clerked with two judges, including William Brennan of the SCOTUS. He went on to practice corporate litigation with law firm Arnold & Porter, where he was made Partner..Later, he would make the decision to quit the firm and become a federal prosecutor. He played an active role in leading the prosecution against Timothy McVeigh, perpetrator of the Oklahoma City blasts..In 1997, he was offered to join the Bench at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He went on to become Chief Judge of the Court in 2013..Garland’s nomination comes as a bit of a surprise, especially after the President earlier expressed his intentions of making the SCOUTUS “less male and less white”. However, the nomination comes at a time when Obama has a little over 10 months left in his second term..Seeing as how the Republicans could come into majority in next election, they have refused to assent to any nomination made by Obama. And so, Garland’s nomination is seen as a compromise of sorts..This article in Vox postulates:.Strategically, Obama’s nomination of Garland is designed to force McConnell and his fellow Senate Republicans to weigh how certain they are, really, that they can get a better deal after the election. .The Senate GOP’s choice is: Confirm the most conservative, and oldest, nominee one could realistically expect from a Democratic president; or accept either a younger, more liberal nominee from Hillary Clinton or a wild card from Donald Trump….Watch an emotional Garland during the announcement of his nomination:.Image courtesy: YouTube.Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
