AJC Statement on Filling Supreme Court Vacancy

NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC issued the following statement today on filling the Supreme Court vacancy:

"The judicial vacancy created by the death of Justice Scalia triggers two Constitutional duties, one assigned to the President and the other to the Senate. The President is to nominate someone he believes qualified to serve on the high court, and the Senate is obligated to consider whether or not to give its advice and consent to that nomination.

"The Supreme Court is an essential institution of government, whose efficient functioning depends on having a full complement of justices. That requires the President and the Senate to discharge their respective duties. How they are exercised inevitably involves some political judgments. But whether they are exercised should not be the subject of debate.

"Historically, AJC does not take positions on judicial nomination, nor do we expect to do so when President Obama announces his nominee to fill the current Supreme Court vacancy. But it is essential that the founders' enshrined plan for appointment of judges be respected, not bypassed."

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SOURCE American Jewish Committee