Schatz Meets with Supreme Court Nominee Merrick Garland

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) met with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, chief judge of the D.C. Circuit Court.  The two met in Senator Schatz’s office on Capitol Hill to discuss the nominating process, his record and judicial philosophy.

“Chief Judge Garland and I had a productive discussion about his record and approach to the law, and it is clear to me that he is a well-qualified candidate for the Supreme Court.  While I was glad to hear from him personally, the American people deserve to hear from him too,” said Senator Schatz.  “We also now have Chief Judge Garland’s completed Senate Judiciary Questionnaire which I will be carefully reviewing.  These documents hold key information on his judicial philosophy, opinions, and experience.  Every member of the Senate should read it.  Now that we have these documents, it’s time for Senate Republicans to do their job, take the next step in the process, and give Chief Judge Garland a fair and timely hearing and vote.”

Earlier today, Chief Judge Garland officially submitted his Senate Judiciary Committee Questionnaire, as all previous nominees to the Supreme Court have done.  The completed questionnaire is 141 pages long and includes 2,066 pages of appendices. It includes key information on Chief Judge Garland’s employment, honors and awards, published writings, litigated cases, judicial opinions, speeches, and interviews.  The standard Senate Judiciary Committee Questionnaire is an essential part of the confirmation process for all federal judicial nominees. It is typically used by all senators to evaluate the nominee’s qualifications and then used as the basis for developing questions at the nominee’s confirmation hearing. 

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