Orrin Hatch: “We intend to let the Justice Department know, but, more importantly, I think, I am serving notice around here that we…”

“We intend to let the Justice Department know, but, more importantly, I think, I am serving notice around here that we are not going to continue to sit back and tolerate these activist judges. Nobody has been more fair to the Clinton judicial nominations than I have. But many of these nominees have come in here and said we are not going to be activist judges; we are not going to usurp the powers of the executive and legislative branches of Government; we are going to do what judges should do, and that is interpret the laws that are made by those who are elected. All of them mouth that kind of language, but when it comes right down to it, a significant number of them are, one on the bench, engaging in patently activist judging and usurping powers that they do not have. So I am just serving notice that we are on to the games these nominees are playing, and do not intend to let this game go on. We are going to do what it takes to weed out those nominees who pay lip service to judicial restraint, but then think they can do anything they want to once they don their robes. There are limitations to the judiciary. The judiciary can preserve itself and keep the high opinion of the American people by not acting as activists, by not usurping the powers of the other two separated branches of Government, and by living within the limits of the Third Branch. I do not care whether activism comes from the right or whether it comes from the left.”