Jeremiah Smith: “as we have gone through this debate, although my name was not attached to anything in terms of a filibuster, it is no…”

“as we have gone through this debate, although my name was not attached to anything in terms of a filibuster, it is no secret that I have been the person who has filibustered these two nominees, Judge Berzon and Judge Paez. The issue is, why are we here? What is the role of the Senate in judicial nominations? The Constitution gave the Senate the advise-and-consent role. We are supposed to advise the President and consent if we think the judge should be put on the court. We do not get very much opportunity to advise because the President just sends these nominations up here--he does not seek our advice--and then we are asked to consent. Based on some of the comments that have been made to me privately and some of the things I have read publicly, it seems as if the Senate should be a rubber stamp, that we should just approve every judge who comes down the line and not do anything with the advise-and-consent role. That is not the way I read the Constitution. I believe that is wrong. We have an obligation under the Constitution to review these judges very carefully. I have certainly voted for more than my share of judicial nominations this President has put forth.”