Remarks Announcing the
Nomination of Douglas H. Ginsburg To Be an Associate
Justice of the
The President. I am announcing today
that, in accordance with my duty under the Constitution, I intend to nominate
and ask the Senate to confirm Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the United States Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for the position of Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court.
Judge
Ginsburg is a highly regarded member of the legal profession. His career as a
Federal judge, as Assistant Attorney General of the United States, as a senior
official at the Office of Management and Budget, as a distinguished professor
at Harvard Law School, and as a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall makes him eminently qualified to sit on
our highest court. Just as importantly, Judge Ginsburg is highly respected by
his peers across the political spectrum. When I nominated him to the U.S. Court
of Appeals last year, he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate and won lavish
praise not just from conservatives but from liberals, as well.
Judge
Ginsburg is, as I am, as every justice I've nominated has been, a believer in
judicial restraint; that is, that the proper role of the courts is to interpret
the law, not make it. In our democracy, our elected representatives make laws,
and unelected judges interpret the laws. And that's the foundation of our
system of government. Above all, judges must be guided by our most fundamental
law: the Constitution. Every judge that I appoint must understand that he or
she serves under the Constitution, not above it, and Judge Ginsburg is such a
judge.
Throughout
his professional career, Judge Ginsburg has shown that he also believes, as I
do, that the courts must administer fair and firm justice, while remembering
not just the rights of criminals but, equally important, the rights of the
victims of crime and the rights of society. Too often, judges have
reinterpreted the Constitution and have made law enforcement a game in which
clever lawyers can try to find ways to trip up the police on the rules. This is
not what our Founding Fathers intended when they framed our Constitution 200
years ago. They knew that among the most vital duties of government was to
``ensure domestic tranquility.'' They drafted a Constitution and gave us a
system that was true to that duty, while protecting the rights of all
Americans. I believe that Judge Ginsburg will take a tough, clear-eyed view of
this essential purpose of the Constitution, while remaining sensitive to the
safety of our citizens and to the problems facing law enforcement
professionals.
Much
has been said about my agenda for the courts. I want courts that protect the
rights of all citizens. No one has rights when criminals are allowed to prey on
society. Judge Ginsburg understands that, and that's why I am nominating him.
That's why I have selected each of the people I have put forward for the
Supreme Court. In taking up this nomination, I hope we can all resolve not to
permit a repetition of the campaign of pressure politics that has so recently
chilled the judicial selection process. It is time for the Senate to show that
it will join with me in defending the integrity and independence of the
American system of justice.
And
a good way to begin would be by holding hearings promptly. When Justice Powell
announced his retirement 4 months ago, he made it plain that he believed it
would be unfair to the parties with cases before the Supreme Court, and unfair
to the remaining members of the Court, to be left without nine full-time
Justices. He graciously stepped down from the Court to enable the President and
the Congress to select his replacement before this October term began. But as a
result of the longest delay in starting hearings to fill a vacant seat on the
Court since the custom of taking testimony from Supreme Court nominees first
began in 1939, the Nation's highest court is still operating at less than full
strength over 4 months later.
The
long delay in scheduling hearings for Judge Bork had other results, as well.
Since June 1987, when Justice Powell resigned, the work of the Supreme Court
has grown even more burdensome. All during the months of July, August, and
September, nearly one-third of the literally hundreds of cases that the
remaining eight Justices reviewed for hearing were criminal cases. Throughout
this time, the empty seat on the Supreme Court has been a casualty in the fight
for victims' rights and the war against crime.
During
the last 25 years, the average time between nomination and the start of
hearings has been less than 18 days. In fact, in the entire 200-year history of
our country, since the nomination of John Jay, the average start-to-finish time
from a President's appointment to confirmation or other action by the Senate
has been only 24 days. One Senator has boasted that the reason for the 70-day
delay in beginning Judge Robert Bork's hearings was to allow time to gear up
the political campaign against him. And that was, very simply, a disservice to
the Court and to the Nation. If these hearings take longer than 3 weeks to get
going, the American people will know what's up.
It's
time to put the national interest ahead of partisan political interests. No
excuses about the press of other business before the Senate Judiciary
Committee. There's no more important business before that committee than to
bring the Supreme Court up to full strength. The Senate has a duty in this
regard, just as I do. So, this is my call to the Senate today: Let us all
resolve that the process of confirming a Supreme Court nominee will never again
be distorted. Alexander Hamilton wrote that ``the complete independence of the
courts of justice is essential in the Constitution.'' Let us resolve this time
that guarding that independence will be the Senate's highest priority. The
American people want this. They have a right to expect it.
By
selecting Judge Ginsburg, I've gone the extra mile to ensure a speedy
confirmation. I've been impressed by the fact that in academia, in government,
and on the bench Judge Ginsburg has been enormously popular with colleagues of
all political persuasions. A word that many have used to describe Douglas
Ginsburg is ``unpretentious.'' Now, that's quite a compliment for a judge.
[Laughter] But I guess that's just one reflection of a man who believes
profoundly in the rule of law. In the last analysis, it is just such men and
women who ensure the continued respect for our constitutional system. And
that's why I'm so pleased to nominate Judge Douglas Ginsburg to the highest
court of our nation.
Let
me say in closing, it is up to all of us to see to it that Senate consideration
of Judge Ginsburg's nomination is fair and dispassionate and, above all,
prompt. I believe
And
now, I believe that Judge Ginsburg, who already has one supporter in the group
-- [laughter] -- has a few words to say.
Judge
Ginsburg. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to express my deep appreciation for
the confidence you've placed in me and nominating me to be an Associate Justice
of the Supreme Court. I just want to say that I'm looking forward to the
confirmation process and, upon confirmation, to taking a place in the Court and
playing a part in the work that it does that's so important in our system of
government. Thank you again.
Note: The President
spoke at