Conflicting with the White House’s portrayal of him as a moderate, Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland detailed his most significant cases to Congress Tuesday in a list that includes victories for mostly liberal causes.
Judge Garland cited among his most important rulings those favoring labor rights, environmental protection involving an endangered species of toad, a criminal case in which the defendant prevailed, and campaign-finance law. They were among thousands of pages of documents submitted to the Senate in a questionnaire, including his role as a federal prosecutor in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing case and the prosecution of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.
His selection of his most significant opinions includes one case in which he voted to throw out a criminal conviction for a drug trafficker, a dissenting opinion in which he would have permitted lawsuits against private contractors over allegations of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and another that sided with an Uighur detainee at the Guantanamo Bay military prison who challenged his status as an “enemy combatant.”
The White House has portrayed Judge Garland as a moderate, while opponents say he’s a liberal who usually rules in favor of federal agency regulations and for labor in workplace disputes.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the list of significant cases is “just a small sliver of a tremendous body of work that Chief Judge Garland has assembled during his service on the D.C. Circuit.”
“When it comes to the substance of those decisions … I think this is exactly why there’s a process for the Senate Judiciary Committee to have hearings,” Mr. Earnest said. “These are exactly the kinds of questions that Chief Judge Merrick Garland is prepared to answer. He’s prepared to answer them under oath, on camera, in public, so that everybody can see exactly what kind of judge he is. He is someone who understands it is his job to interpret the law, not advance a political agenda.”
Judge Garland also told the Senate that neither President Obama nor White House staffers sought assurances from him about how he would rule on specific cases or legal issues. He answered “no” to the question about litmus tests.
His document details 357 decisions he has written since joining the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 1997.
The submission of Judge Garland’s questionnaire isn’t likely to change minds among Senate Republicans, who are blocking his nomination in favor of waiting for a new president to fill the vacancy on the high court. The White House essentially went though the motions of having the nominee fill out the lengthy questionnaire even though the GOP won’t schedule a confirmation hearing for him.
Judge Garland is scheduled to hold more courtesy meetings with senators this week. He will meet Wednesday with Democratic Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Tom Carper of Delaware, then Thursday with Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, the White House said.
The progressive Alliance For Justice released its scorecard this week on Judge Garland’s rulings, and found him “highly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.”
“Throughout his judicial career, Judge Garland has demonstrated extraordinary intellect, fairness, humility, and an unwavering commitment to the rule of law,” the group said. “He has been a model of judicial restraint — strictly adhering to Supreme Court precedent, avoiding sweeping proclamations when a more narrow rationale will suffice, and restricting rulings to only those issues fully briefed and properly presented to the court.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.