Civil rights attorneys are calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellHouse passes measure calling on Pence to remove Trump Trump, House GOP relationship suddenly deteriorates Kinzinger says he'll vote to impeach Trump MORE (R-Ky.) to hold a confirmation hearing and vote on Merrick Garland.
In a report released Friday, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said the opinions Garland authored in civil rights cases during the 18 years he served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit show him to be fair and moderate.
While most of the civil rights opinions he authored were in employment cases, the Lawyers’ Committee said he showed a tendency to side with discriminated plaintiffs in overcoming motions to dismiss, suggesting he supports the notion that cases alleging actionable discrimination should advance at least to the discovery stage.
“We believe that Judge Garland possesses the exceptional competence necessary to serve on the Court and urge the Senate to move forward with hearings to give the public an opportunity to learn more about his commitment to fair interpretation of civil rights laws,” Kristen Clarke, the committee’s president and executive director, said in a statement.
“While Judge Garland does not have an extensive body of opinions in civil rights cases, his decisions have been consistent with core civil rights principles,” she added.
In other categories of civil rights cases — housing, voting, education and environmental justice — the committee said Garland has not written many opinions, but those he has written are consistent with his opinions in employment cases.
It’s been 50 days since President Obama nominated Garland to fill the vacant seat left by the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Republicans continue to hold strong on their refusal to hold a confirmation hearing or vote until after the election.
That stalemate in Congress, the Lawyers’ Committee said, is undermining the court’s ability to effectively resolve complex cases.
