Obama nominates Judge Merrick Garland to US Supreme Court News
Obama nominates Judge Merrick Garland to US Supreme Court

US President Barack Obama [official website] on Wednesday nominated Chief Judge Merrick Garland [WH materials] of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia [JURIST report] on the US Supreme Court [official website]. Speaking on the White House lawn, Obama said [transcript] that Merrick 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. These qualities and his long commitment to public service have earned him the respect and admiration from leaders from both sides of the aisle.

Obama urged members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to take action and begin holding confirmation hearings when they return from a two-week recess: “I simply ask Repbulicans in the Senate to give him a fair hearing, and then an up or down vote.”

Garland was appointed to the DC Circuit in 1997 by Bill Clinton and became Chief Judge in February 2013. Republican senators have pledged to block any nomination by Obama, arguing that since it is an election year, the American people should have a say [SCOTUSblog op-ed] in the process by voting in the upcoming presidential election.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.