Orrin Hatch: “As we complete the 1st session of the 105th Congress, I would like to update my colleagues on how we have advanced the…”

“As we complete the 1st session of the 105th Congress, I would like to update my colleagues on how we have advanced the judicial confirmation process. Let me say from the outset that I believe one of the Senate's most important functions is its constitutional authority, and responsibility, to render advice and consent to the President in his nomination of Federal judges. Unique in our system of Government, Federal judges serve for life, and are entirely unaccountable to the electorate. When a single Federal judge is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he or she will exercise enormous power over our people, our States, and our public and private institutions, for years and years to come. As the scope of Federal law--both statutory and constitutional--has exploded to cover virtually all areas of our lives and culture, and as our society has become more litigious, Federal judges have come to wield vast power over countless aspects of our everyday lives. Moreover, the troubling trend toward increased judicial activism has only enhanced the power that judges exercise in our society.”