Litigation

President Obama?s Statement on Justice Souter?s Retirement

By Deanna Dawson

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President Obama made a surprise appearance at this afternoon’s White House daily press briefing to confirm that Justice David Souter had told him he plans to retire. After praising Souter?s career, the President added (video here):

Now, the process of selecting someone to replace Justice Souter is among my most serious responsibilities as President. So I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity. I will seek someone who understands that justice isn’t about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book. It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people’s lives — whether they can make a living and care for their families; whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation.

I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people’s hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving as just decisions and outcomes. I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process and the appropriate limits of the judicial role. I will seek somebody who shares my respect for constitutional values on which this nation was founded, and who brings a thoughtful understanding of how to apply them in our time.

As I make this decision, I intend to consult with members of both parties across the political spectrum. And it is my hope that we can swear in our new Supreme Court Justice in time for him or her to be seated by the first Monday in October when the Court’s new term begins.

After decades of bitter confirmations battles, bipartisanship would be welcome. And just as President Obama says he wants a justice who will respect the “appropriate limits of the judicial role,” the President and the Senate owe the country a nomination and confirmation process that supports the fairness, impartiality, and independence of our courts. If we are to depend on our courts to protect our rights and guarantee equal justice, our judges must be able to make decisions solely on the facts and the law, without fear of political intimidation.

Full post as published by The Gavel on May 01, 2009 (boomark / email).