WASHINGTON -- Fifteen former presidents of the American Bar Association, including Little Rock attorney Philip Anderson, wrote to U.S. Senate leaders this week, urging them to give Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland "a fair hearing and timely vote."
But one of the lawmakers receiving the letter, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa, reiterated Tuesday that he won't hold confirmation hearings for Garland, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Senate Republicans say a replacement for Antonin Scalia, the 79-year-old justice who died in February, should be selected by the winner of November's presidential election.
Conservatives fear that the balance of power on the court will shift if Scalia, a conservative jurist, is replaced with a moderate or liberal.
On Tuesday morning, Grassley had breakfast with Garland in the Senate Dining Room and told him face to face that the nomination won't advance.
After enjoying a bowl of oatmeal, the Iowa Republican posted a photograph on Instagram of their 70-minute-long meeting. "Had pleasant bfast w Judge Garland this morning. Explained why the Senate won't be moving fwd w his nomination. Next prez will decide after the ppl have a voice," Grassley wrote.
The former Bar Association presidents say Grassley and the others are wrong to derail Garland's nomination.
In the letter, they said blocking the confirmation process "injects a degree of politics into the judicial branch that materially hampers the effective operation of our nation's highest court and the lower courts over which it presides."
The lawyers said there is no "election year exception to the duties outlined in" the U.S. Constitution.
Article II, Section 2, states that the president "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... Judges of the Supreme Court."
"Throughout American history, presidents have nominated individuals to fill vacancies during the last year of their terms. Since the 1900s, six Justices have been confirmed in presidential election years, including three Republican appointees," the Bar Association signers wrote.
Anderson, who served as association president from 1998-1999, said Garland would make a fine Supreme Court justice.
"He is superbly qualified. He's respected by members of both parties. He has a sterling reputation and a resume that any Supreme Court candidate should have or would like to have," he said in an interview Tuesday.
With Scalia's seat vacant, there's the potential for tie votes and deadlock, he noted. Questions of law will remain unsettled and cases and controversies may remain unresolved, he said.
"The court is hobbled in this situation. It's not good for the court. It's not good for the judiciary. It's not good for American law," Anderson added.
Within hours of Scalia's death, Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called for a freeze on Supreme Court nominations and since then, the Kentucky Republican has declined to sit down with Garland, saying a "perfunctory meeting" would be pointless.
But at least 17 other Republicans, including one Arkansas lawmaker, have told the White House they're willing to visit with President Barack Obama's nominee.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Rogers chatted with the judge for about 20 minutes last week, letting him know that he won't back an Obama Supreme Court nominee.
Two Republican lawmakers, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, said Garland deserves a confirmation hearing. But others are adamant that the president shouldn't be making such a pivotal decision during an election year.
Garland was scheduled to meet Tuesday with two more Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, as well as Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey.
Today, he is due to meet with five more senators: Republican Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire; independent Angus King of Maine; and Democrats Mark Warner of Virginia, Patty Murray of Washington and Claire McCaskill of Missouri.
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton's calendar, thus far, doesn't include a visit with Obama's nominee.
"Sen. Cotton has no plans to meet with Judge Garland at this time," said a spokesman for the Republican from Dardanelle.
Like Boozman, Cotton opposes confirmation hearings for Garland; he said Scalia's successor shouldn't be picked until after the November election.
A Section on 04/13/2016