Columbus City Council President Calls for Nine
Mounting pressure in
Ohio and across the country for hearing and vote on Supreme Court Nominee
Columbus,
Ohio
– Council President Zach Klein, alongside Ohio educators who teach students
every day about the U.S. Constitution, called for members of the U.S. Senate to
hold a hearing and vote on Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination.
"Failing to give President Obama's Supreme
Court nominee an up-or-down confirmation vote creates uncertainty in the law.
All Americans, whether law enforcement officers, victims of crime, or average
citizens simply seeking basic fairness and justice, deserve to have a full 9-member
bench adjudicating the most important legal issues facing our country,” said Klein.
Polling
has found that the majority of Ohio voters think that the vacant seat on the Supreme Court should be filled this year. Editorial boards across the state, including the Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which called Portman’s
stance “a mistake,” have criticized Senator Portman’s refusal to do his job and
fulfill his constitutional duty.” The Toledo Blade recently called Portman’s stance
on the Supreme Court nomination “indefensible.”
Last week, U.S. Sen. Jerry
Moran (R-KS)
became the third Republican Senator to buck party leadership and support hearings for Garland: “I would
rather have you (constituents) complaining to me that I voted wrong on
nominating somebody than saying I’m not doing my job. …I can’t imagine the
president has or will nominate somebody that meets my criteria, but I have my
job to do. I think the process ought to go forward.”
Already more than 350 law professors warned
Congressional leaders that, ”A long-term vacancy jeopardizes the Supreme
Court’s ability to resolve disputed questions of federal law, causing
uncertainty and hampering the administration of justice across the country.”
The Ohio Education Association represents 122,000 teachers, faculty
members and support professionals in Ohio's public schools, colleges and
universities.
#WeNeedNine is a grassroots campaign that’s
bringing together Americans around the country to tell the Senate to do its job
and restore the Supreme Court to nine justices, for the good of our democracy.
It is a project of the Constitutional Responsibility Project. For more
information about #WeNeedNine visit WeNeedNine.org
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