CONFIRMATION PROCESS
“I thank the President for entrusting me with this profound
responsibility, as well as for the graciousness that he and the First Lady have
shown my family throughout this process.”
“I thank the members of this committee—and your other
colleagues in the Senate—who have taken the time to meet with me since my
nomination. It has been a privilege to meet you.”
“The confirmation process—and the work of serving on the
court if I am confirmed— requires sacrifices, particularly from my family. I
chose to accept the nomination because I believe deeply in the rule of law and
the place of the Supreme Court in our nation. I believe Americans of all
backgrounds deserve an independent Supreme Court that interprets our Constitution
and laws as they are written. And I believe I can serve my country by playing
that role.”
“If confirmed, it would be the honor of a lifetime to serve
alongside the Chief Justice and seven Associate Justices. I admire them all and
would consider each a valued colleague. And I might bring a few new
perspectives to the bench.”
“I come before this Committee with humility about the
responsibility I have been asked to undertake, and with appreciation for those
who came before me.”
“I have been nominated to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat, but
no one will ever take her place. I will be forever grateful for the path she
marked and the life she led.”
IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY
“As I said when I was nominated to serve as a Justice, I am
used to being in a group of nine—my family. Nothing is more important to me,
and I am so proud to have them behind me.”
“There is a tendency in our profession to treat the practice
of law as all-consuming, while losing sight of everything else. But that makes
for a shallow and unfulfilling life. I worked hard as a lawyer and a
professor; I owed that to my clients, my students, and myself. But I never let
the law define my identity or crowd out the rest of my life.”
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
“Courts have a vital responsibility to enforce the rule of
law, which is critical to a free society. But courts are not designed to solve
every problem or right every wrong in our public life. The policy decisions and
value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by
and accountable to the people. The public should not expect courts to do so,
and courts should not try.”
“That is the approach I have strived to follow as a judge on
the Seventh Circuit. In every case, I have carefully considered the arguments
presented by the parties, discussed the issues with my colleagues on the court,
and done my utmost to reach the result required by the law, whatever my own
preferences might be.”
“When I write an opinion resolving a case, I read every word
from the perspective of the losing party. I ask myself how would I view the
decision if one of my children was the party I was ruling against: Even though
I would not like the result, would I understand that the decision was fairly
reasoned and grounded in the law? That is the standard I set for myself in
every case, and it is the standard I will follow as long as I am a judge on any
court.”
“If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I pledge to
faithfully and impartially discharge my duties to the American people as an
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.”
LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP
“Although I considered graduate studies in English, I
decided my passion for words was better suited to deciphering statutes than
novels. I was fortunate to have wonderful legal mentors—in particular, the
judges for whom I clerked. The legendary Judge Laurence Silberman of the D.C.
Circuit gave me my first job in the law and continues to teach me today. He was
by my side during my Seventh Circuit hearing and investiture, and he is
cheering me on from his living room now.”
“I also clerked for Justice Scalia, and like many law
students, I felt like I knew the justice before I ever met him, because I had
read so many of his colorful, accessible opinions. More than the style of his
writing, though, it was the content of Justice Scalia’s reasoning that shaped
me. His judicial philosophy was straightforward: A judge must apply the law as
written, not as the judge wishes it were.”
NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE COURT
“And I might bring a few new perspectives to the bench. As
the President noted when he announced my nomination, I would be the first
mother of school-age children to serve on the court. I would be the first
Justice to join the court from the Seventh Circuit in 45 years. And I would be
the only sitting Justice who didn’t attend law school at Harvard or Yale.”
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