Chuck Schumer: “I will say a word about the nomination of D. Brooks Smith to the Third Circuit. For me, my concerns with Judge Smith are…”

“I will say a word about the nomination of D. Brooks Smith to the Third Circuit. For me, my concerns with Judge Smith are not about ethics but about ideology. My questions are about his record. My worries are about what kind of judge he has been at the trial level and what kind of judge he will be at the appellate level. Time and time again, the President says he is going to nominate conservatives in the mold of Justices Scalia and Thomas. Every indication is that he is following through with that promise. At least by my standards, that is not OK. I certainly want legal excellence at the highest order. Diversity ought to be at the highest courts. We ought not have a bench of all like men. But I also want moderation and ideological balance. Unfortunately, as they nominate judge after judge, hard right, out of the mainstream, far further to the right than President Clinton's nominees were to the left, it is clear that this administration is committed to imbalance on the courts. Frankly, that is a strategy I cannot get behind. When it comes to D. Brooks Smith, there are some red flags raised. As a city district court judge, he gave a speech in which he criticized the constitutionality of the Violence Against Women Act, something I am pretty proud of because I was the author, along with Congresswoman Louise Slaughter in the House of Representatives. Senator Biden did a great job here in the Senate.…”