HR1022LRB099 20652 MST 45257 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Article III, Section I of the United States
3Constitution vests judicial authority "in one supreme Court,
4and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to
5time ordain and establish"; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The United States Congress passed the Judiciary
7Act of 1789, fixing the number of Supreme Court justices at 6;
8and
 
9    WHEREAS, In an effort to avoid an evenly divided Court, the
10Judiciary Act of 1869 increased membership on the Court to one
11Chief Justice, and 8 Associate Justices; that number has
12remained unchanged; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Antonin Scalia became an Associate Justice on the
14Supreme Court after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan
15in 1986; Justice Scalia was confirmed by the United States
16Senate 98-0; he was sworn in on September 26, 1986; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The death of Justice Scalia has effectively placed
18the Court in ideological gridlock with respect to liberal and
19conservative interpretations of the Constitution; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The Court now consists of 4 members appointed by

 

 

HR1022- 2 -LRB099 20652 MST 45257 r

1Republican presidents: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice
2Anthony Kennedy, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Justice Samuel
3Alito; and 4 members appointed by Democratic presidents:
4Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice
5Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Elena Kagan; and
 
6    WHEREAS, A Supreme Court term begins on the first Monday in
7October, and continues until late June or early July of the
8following year; the final day of the 2016 term will be June 26,
92016; the Court continues to hear oral arguments until April
1026, 2016; and
 
11    WHEREAS, There are currently 74 cases on the Court docket;
12with the absence of Justice Scalia, many of those cases could
13be decided 4-4; in that event, the decisions of the lower
14courts will stand; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In its current term, the Court will hear cases on
16a variety of issues affecting millions of Americans, such as
17affirmative action, immigration, reproductive rights,
18redistricting, and labor practices; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Pursuant to Article II, Section I of the
20Constitution, Barack Obama was elected President of the United
21States in 2008, and again in 2012; his presidency will end on
22January 20, 2017; and
 

 

 

HR1022- 3 -LRB099 20652 MST 45257 r

1    WHEREAS, Article II, Section II of the Constitution
2provides that the President "shall nominate" judges of the
3Supreme Court with the "Advice and Consent of the Senate"; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The Democratic and Republican Presidential
5nominating conventions will take place in July of 2016; the
6Presidential election will take place on November 8, 2016; a
7new President will not be inaugurated until January 20, 2017,
8at which time that President will have the power to nominate
9judges; however, until that time, the power to nominate remains
10with President Barack Obama; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 1916, Justice Louis Brandeis was confirmed as
12the 67th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court after 4 months
13of scrutiny, representing the longest confirmation process in
14American history; during which time, the Senate Judiciary
15Committee held the first public hearings on the nomination of a
16justice; he was sworn in on June 6, 1916, a presidential
17election year; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Justice Anthony Kennedy is the most senior member
19of the Court today; he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan
20on November 30, 1987; he was confirmed unanimously by a Senate
21controlled by Democrats on February 3, 1988 and was sworn in on
22February 18, 1988, during the last year of Reagan's presidency;

 

 

HR1022- 4 -LRB099 20652 MST 45257 r

1and
 
2    WHEREAS, Additional Supreme Court justices nominated and
3confirmed during the final year of a presidency include: Oliver
4Ellsworth, Samuel Chase, William Johnson, Philip Barbour,
5Roger Taney, Melville Fuller, Lucius Lamar, George Shiras,
6Mahlon Pitney, John Clarke, Benjamin Cardozo, and Frank Murphy;
7therefore, be it
 
8    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
9NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
10urge President Barack Obama to select and nominate a candidate
11to be an Associate Justice for the U.S. Supreme Court in a
12timely manner and that the nominee both liberalize and truly
13diversify the Court; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That we urge the Judiciary Committee of the
15United States Senate to promptly schedule confirmation
16hearings for the President's nominee followed by a recorded
17vote recommending confirmation; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we urge the full Senate to vote to confirm
19such nomination; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
21delivered to President of the United States, Barack Obama;

 

 

HR1022- 5 -LRB099 20652 MST 45257 r

1Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley;
2Vice-President, Joe Biden; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
3John Roberts; and Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk of
4Illinois.