Chuck Schumer: “Let me say before we begin that judging a potential judge is not an easy question. The question many of us grapple with…”

“Let me say before we begin that judging a potential judge is not an easy question. The question many of us grapple with is, Would this judge follow the law or would this judge impose his or her own views instead of the law? That is a difficult question for most nominees. I think both sides of the aisle think that way. Senator Hatch said a few years ago: I believe the Senate can and should do what it can to ascertain the jurisprudential views of a nominee, that a nominee will bring to the bench, in order to prevent the confirmation of those who are likely to become judicial activists. Activists go both ways. You can be an activist and want to move the clock way ahead or you can be an activist and want to move the clock way back. If you want to move the body politic further to the left or further to the right, then jurisprudence would dictate. In my judgment, if you use that standard, it is not very difficult to come to the conclusion that Mr. Holmes does not deserve to be on the Federal bench.”