Supreme Court Nominee

US President Barack Obama has nominated Merrick Garland, an appellate court judge, to the Supreme Court.

White House confirmed the news on Wednesday, emphasising his readiness for the job and history of support from both Republicans and Democrats.

[...]

Garland, 63, was a former prosecutor who supervised both the Oklahoma City bombing and Unabomber cases in the US.

Garland was confirmed to the DC Circuit in 1997 with backing from a majority in both parties, including seven current Republicans senators.

[...]

Garland has won praise in the past from Republicans and Democrats and is viewed as a moderate whose legal approach was shaped by his lengthy career as a federal prosecutor.

  alJazeera

But they have a point to make this time.

Republicans control the Senate, which must confirm any nominee, and the party's leaders want to leave the choice to the next president, denying Obama a chance to alter the ideological balance of the court before he leaves office next January.

Republicans contend that a confirmation fight in an election year would be too politicised.

In advance of Obama's announcement, the Republican Party set up a task force that will orchestrate attack ads, petitions and media outreach.

The aim is to bolster Senate Republicans' strategy of denying consideration of Obama's nominee.

While he is known as a centrist or a moderate liberal in most areas, his rulings suggest that he could be more of a center-right justice in matters of criminal law.

[...]

Since ending his career as a prosecutor and joining the bench, Judge Garland has dealt with thousands of cases over a range of issues, developing a reputation for intelligence, an even temper, and an open mind, according to lawyers who practice before the appeals court.

Still, he can be somewhat more sympathetic to prosecutors than are other Democratic appointees.

[...]

[When considering Garland as a replacement for Justice Stevens in 2010 (Elena Kagan was ultimately selected), w]ithout studying Judge Garland’s record, several criminal law professors said that Justice Stevens has been a liberal voice on the Supreme Court regarding the constitutional rights of criminal defendants, so replacing him with a center-right thinker would shift the court’s balance on law enforcement matters.

  NYT

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.