City of Philadelphia - File #: 160343

• File #: 160343
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 4/21/2016
• In control: CITY COUNCIL
• Title: Urging the United States Senate to perform its constitutional duty to advise and consent on the President's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court of the United States
• Sponsors: Councilmember Parker, Councilmember Gym, Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Green, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Domb, Councilmember Greenlee, Councilmember Taubenberger, Council President Clarke, Councilmember Henon, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Johnson, Councilmember Oh

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
4/21/2016	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced and Ordered Placed on This Week's Final Passage Calendar - Rules Suspended	Pass
4/21/2016	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED	Pass	16:1
4/21/2016	0	CITY COUNCIL	MOTION	Pass

Title
Urging the United States Senate to perform its constitutional duty to advise and consent on the President's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court of the United States

Body
WHEREAS, The Constitution of the United States provides that the Senate shall provide Advice and Consent for appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States; and

WHEREAS, The Senate's constitutional duty to advise and consent on judicial nominees is one of its most important and solemn responsibilities; and

WHEREAS, The Senate has confirmed more than a dozen Supreme Court justices in presidential election years, including five in the last 100 years; and

WHEREAS, The Senate has confirmed justices in presidential election years in which the executive and legislative branches of government were divided between two political parties, including Justice Anthony Kennedy's confirmation in 1988; and

WHEREAS, The Senate Judiciary Committee has never denied a Supreme Court nominee a hearing since it began holding public confirmation hearings; and

WHEREAS, If the Senate refuses to consider a Supreme Court nominee until after the next President is sworn into office, it will result in the longest Supreme Court vacancy caused by Senate inaction since the Civil War; and

WHEREAS, The Supreme Court serves an essential function resolving critical questions of law that affect our community, its economy, and its citizens; and

WHEREAS, The President has nominated Merrick Garland, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, who "has earned a track record of building consensus as a thoughtful, fair-minded judge who follows the law"; and

WHEREAS, Judge Garland is well-qualified and has more judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in history; and

WHEREAS, Forcing the Supreme Court to function with only eight justices risks creating numerous instances in which the Court is evenly divided on the outcome of a case...