Experts to Discuss the Significance of Public Confirmation Hearings for Supreme Court Nominees

Sen. Amy Klobuchar to give opening remarks

CONTACT:
Paul Guequierre, Director of Communications, pguequierre@acslaw.org or (202) 393-6187

In the last 100 years, the Senate has provided an open process for considering Supreme Court nominees with a hearing and a vote. Public confirmation hearings are a particularly significant aspect of the process. It is during these hearings that the American public witnesses Senators asking Supreme Court nominees important questions about our Constitution. It is also how the American public meets the nominee, engages in the process, and decides for themselves whether the nominee is fit to serve on the highest court in the land.

On Tuesday, March 15 at 3:00 p.m., a panel of experts will discuss the Senate’s constitutional duty of advice and consent and why it is important that the next Supreme Court nominee receive an open confirmation hearing where significant issues of our constitutional democracy are discussed.

WHO:

·         Introductory Remarks by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)

·         Moderator: Norman J. Ornstein, political scientist and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute

·         Dahlia Lithwick, Supreme Court Correspondent, Slate

·         Garrett Epps, contributing editor for The Atlantic and professor of constitutional law and creative writing at the University of Baltimore.

·         Kim Atkins, Washington Reporter and Columnist, Boston Herald

WHEN: Tuesday, March 15, 2016, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

WHERE: Senate Visitors Center, First St NE, Room 201, Washington, DC 20515

The event is open to the press. Please RSVP to press@acslaw.org.

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS), founded in 2001 and one of the nation's leading progressive legal organizations, is a rapidly growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers and other concerned individuals dedicated to making the law a force to improve lives of all people. For more information about the organization or to locate one of the more than 200 lawyer and law student chapters in 48 states, please visit www.acslaw.org.