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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Article III, Section I of the United States | ||||||
3 | Constitution vests judicial authority "in one supreme Court, | ||||||
4 | and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to | ||||||
5 | time ordain and establish"; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The United States Congress passed the Judiciary | ||||||
7 | Act of 1789, fixing the number of Supreme Court justices at 6; | ||||||
8 | and
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9 | WHEREAS, In an effort to avoid an evenly divided Court, the | ||||||
10 | Judiciary Act of 1869 increased membership on the Court to one | ||||||
11 | Chief Justice, and 8 Associate Justices; that number has | ||||||
12 | remained unchanged; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Antonin Scalia became an Associate Justice on the | ||||||
14 | Supreme Court after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan | ||||||
15 | in 1986; Justice Scalia was confirmed by the United States | ||||||
16 | Senate 98-0; he was sworn in on September 26, 1986; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, The death of Justice Scalia has effectively placed | ||||||
18 | the Court in ideological gridlock with respect to liberal and | ||||||
19 | conservative interpretations of the Constitution; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, The Court now consists of 4 members appointed by |
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1 | Republican presidents: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice | ||||||
2 | Anthony Kennedy, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Justice Samuel | ||||||
3 | Alito; and 4 members appointed by Democratic presidents: | ||||||
4 | Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice | ||||||
5 | Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Elena Kagan; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, A Supreme Court term begins on the first Monday in | ||||||
7 | October, and continues until late June or early July of the | ||||||
8 | following year; the final day of the 2016 term will be June 26, | ||||||
9 | 2016; the Court continues to hear oral arguments until April | ||||||
10 | 26, 2016; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, There are currently 74 cases on the Court docket; | ||||||
12 | with the absence of Justice Scalia, many of those cases could | ||||||
13 | be decided 4-4; in that event, the decisions of the lower | ||||||
14 | courts will stand; and | ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, In its current term, the Court will hear cases on | ||||||
16 | a variety of issues affecting millions of Americans, such as | ||||||
17 | affirmative action, immigration, reproductive rights, | ||||||
18 | redistricting, and labor practices; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, Pursuant to Article II, Section I of the | ||||||
20 | Constitution, Barack Obama was elected President of the United | ||||||
21 | States in 2008, and again in 2012; his presidency will end on | ||||||
22 | January 20, 2017; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Article II, Section II of the Constitution | ||||||
2 | provides that the President "shall nominate" judges of the | ||||||
3 | Supreme Court with the "Advice and Consent of the Senate"; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, The Democratic and Republican Presidential | ||||||
5 | nominating conventions will take place in July of 2016; the | ||||||
6 | Presidential election will take place on November 8, 2016; a | ||||||
7 | new President will not be inaugurated until January 20, 2017, | ||||||
8 | at which time that President will have the power to nominate | ||||||
9 | judges; however, until that time, the power to nominate remains | ||||||
10 | with President Barack Obama; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, In 1916, Justice Louis Brandeis was confirmed as | ||||||
12 | the 67th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court after 4 months | ||||||
13 | of scrutiny, representing the longest confirmation process in | ||||||
14 | American history; during which time, the Senate Judiciary | ||||||
15 | Committee held the first public hearings on the nomination of a | ||||||
16 | justice; he was sworn in on June 6, 1916, a presidential | ||||||
17 | election year; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, Justice Anthony Kennedy is the most senior member | ||||||
19 | of the Court today; he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan | ||||||
20 | on November 30, 1987; he was confirmed unanimously by a Senate | ||||||
21 | controlled by Democrats on February 3, 1988 and was sworn in on | ||||||
22 | February 18, 1988, during the last year of Reagan's presidency; |
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1 | and
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2 | WHEREAS, Additional Supreme Court justices nominated and | ||||||
3 | confirmed during the final year of a presidency include: Oliver | ||||||
4 | Ellsworth, Samuel Chase, William Johnson, Philip Barbour, | ||||||
5 | Roger Taney, Melville Fuller, Lucius Lamar, George Shiras, | ||||||
6 | Mahlon Pitney, John Clarke, Benjamin Cardozo, and Frank Murphy; | ||||||
7 | therefore, be it
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8 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
9 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
10 | urge President Barack Obama to select and nominate a candidate | ||||||
11 | to be an Associate Justice for the U.S. Supreme Court in a | ||||||
12 | timely manner and that the nominee both liberalize and truly | ||||||
13 | diversify the Court; and be it further | ||||||
14 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Judiciary Committee of the | ||||||
15 | United States Senate to promptly schedule confirmation | ||||||
16 | hearings for the President's nominee followed by a recorded | ||||||
17 | vote recommending confirmation; and be it further | ||||||
18 | RESOLVED, That we urge the full Senate to vote to confirm | ||||||
19 | such nomination; and be it further
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20 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
21 | delivered to President of the United States, Barack Obama; |
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1 | Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley; | ||||||
2 | Vice-President, Joe Biden; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, | ||||||
3 | John Roberts; and Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk of | ||||||
4 | Illinois.
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