Manuel Miranda
The Pierce Law Federalist Society hosted Mr. Manuel Miranda for a lunch event on the Supreme Court’s future under the Obama administration.
Informing Mr. Miranda’s perspective were his service as Counsel to then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in coordinating the judicial nomination stances of 51 Republican Senate staffs as well as his service as Senior Nominations Counsel to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. Miranda’s talk traced the history of the nomination process, particularly the filibuster, from the founding to the 1917 establishment of cloture to the Warren Court-era controversy over Justice Fortas to the confirmations of Justice Alito and Chief Justice Roberts amid the withdrawn nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers. Given President Obama’s majority support in the Senate and the likely coming resignation of at least one sitting Supreme Court justice, Mr. Miranda noted, an opportunity has emerged to exercise moderation and transparency in the nomination process at both the Supreme Court and federal appellate court levels. The recent letter to Mr. Obama from 41 GOP senators threatening a filibuster, after years of opposing the tactic, would be an unfortunate suppression of open Senate debate, he added.
The talk was well-received by the crowd of nearly four dozen, with Pierce faculty and a federal judge in attendance as well.
Our thanks to everyone who attended for making this such a successful call for discussion!
