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Judicial Nominations

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It is essential that the President nominate, and the Senate confirm, only those judicial nominees who understand the difference between making and interpreting the law.  The conflict over judicial appointments is really a conflict over how much power judges should have when they interpret and apply the law to decide cases.  I believe strongly that judges must follow, rather than make, the law. 

Judges can make or break our liberty, so it is crucial that only individuals with a proper appreciation for the Constitution’s limits on federal power and the judiciary’s limited role be confirmed as judges with lifetime appointments. 

The Senate’s critical constitutional role of “advice and consent” is a check on the President’s power to appoint judges.  It allows the Senate to ensure that only men and women who are properly qualified become federal judges.  I believe that takes more than an impressive legal resume.  Judicial nominees who have the wrong judicial philosophy, or the wrong view of the power and proper role of judges in our system of government, are not qualified to be federal judges.  I will not support nominees whose records clearly establish that they will be activist judges. 

This requires carefully examining each nominee’s record of writings, speeches, decisions, and activities, and participating in hearings as nominees come before the Judiciary Committee.  Judges do more than simply decide a case between two parties.  In the process, they often must interpret both statutes that were passed by Congress and, even more important, the Constitution.  The Constitution and our laws must control judges, not the other way around.  If judges stay in their proper place, then the people and their elected representatives can decide how to run this great country.
June 2012
Date Title
6/28/12 Supreme Court Rules that ObamaCare Medicaid Expansion is Washington Power Grab at Expense of States
April 2012
Date Title
4/26/12 Hatch on Judiciary Committee Approval of Robert Shelby to U.S. District Court for Utah
March 2012
Date Title
3/22/12 Hatch Votes to Confirm Judge David Nuffer for U.S. District Court for the District of Utah
November 2011
Date Title
11/30/11 Hatch on Nomination of Robert Shelby to U. S. District Court for Utah
September 2011
Date Title
9/27/11 Hatch Statement On Senate Confirmation Of David Barlow As Us Attorney For Utah
9/22/11 Hatch Marks 25 Years Since Antonin Scalia’s Appointment To The Supreme Court
9/21/11 Hatch Introduces Judge David Nuffer In Confirmation Hearings For U.S. District Court For The District Of Utah
9/20/11 Hatch Introduces Judge David Nuffer In Confirmation Hearings For U.S. District Court For The District Of Utah
August 2011
Date Title
8/3/11 Hatch Statement on Nomination of David Barlow to Serve as U.S. Attorney for Utah
June 2011
Date Title
6/29/11 Hatch Statement on Federal Magistrate David Nuffer's Nomination to U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City
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