Judge Barrett has issued the text of her remarks ahead of the hearings.
She is President Trump’s third nominee and the hearings are liable to be contentious, one hopes the sort of accusations raised against Mr Kavanaugh will not occur.
It is to be noted that election year nominations to the Supreme Court have happened a significant number of times since the 1790’s. Over the past century and more, several times, nominees proposed by a president of one party with a Senate dominated by the other have failed, while same-party nominations have typically gone through. The US Constitution simply stipulates Presidential nomination and Senate “advice and consent.”
In past decades, such were not contentious, but the Court has deteriorated into being a life-tenure, super legislature.
It seems that that needs to be reformed and increasing the number of such legislators (court packing) is not a solution. Legislating from the life tenure bench is part of the problem, not a solution. The restoration of a recognition that we are inherently morally governed through built in law involving justice, i.e. natural law, seems to be a start point for judicial reform. There is a broad need to restore a more balanced order and some sort of term of office limit process may help. Say, one may ponder: limit at age seventy and/or seven years, with a phase in period that allows a gradual overlap.
For sure, a process that turns nomination into a media lynching by accusations, leaks etc only serves to feed fatal disaffection.
It is time for fresh, sound thinking. END