Why would they want to sit there and listen to Judge Gibbons school them?
He smacked them down on Rybar, Lopez, Casey, and just about every other case those creeps have misrepresented over the course of these hearings.
(1010 WINS) (WASHINGTON) Sen. Charles Schumer signaled Thursday he is likely to vote against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.
:-)
More Scotusblog (for the office bound)
4:15: Gibbons concludes his statement.
4:12: Gibbons is discussing Alito's opinion with Rybar, pointing out the reasonable disagreement.
Gibbons emphasizes that he is not supporting Alito because of the current administration, in fact, his firm opposes the administration in some of the Guantanamo cases. Rather, he things Alito will give the detainee cases careful and thoughtful consideration, which is more than he can say for the Congress of the United States.
4:09: Gibbons brings up Casey and Alito's dissent. Gibbons argues that Alito's opponents say that this dissent puts him outside the judicial mainstream. Gibbons asks the Senate Committee to consider the fact that the Supreme Court had not yet decided what types of requirements a state could impose on abortion at that time. Gibbons points out that cert in the case was granted, highlighting that conscientious judges could disagree in Casey, when you look at the caselaw at the time.
4:07: Gibbons believes the Senate Judiciary Committee members should not look at what Alito did before he was a judge when casting their vote for or against his confirmation.
4:06: Gibbons is discussing the fact that being appointed to a Circuit Court is a transforming experience. A good judge puts aside interests of political organizations, even if they were instrumental in their appointment.
4:02: Judge Gibbons begins his statement. It was Judge Gibbons' retirement that created the vacancy which Judge Alito filled on the Third Circuit.
Gibbons is discussing the Gibbons' Fellowship program. He wants the committee to know that the Third Circuit is a centrist legal institution. One reason for this is the distribution of opinions to the full court.