Arlen Specter Mine Quotations

Isn't there a lack of respect for Congress demonstrated by the Supreme Court, as Justice Scalia points out that it is 'ill advised' for the court to set itself up as 'taskmaster' to determine that Congress has done its 'homework'?

There's been more controversy before this nominee has uttered a formal word than I have ever heard,

He has picked a candidate and our job is to determine not whether she's the best qualified, but whether she's qualified.

As the president ponders the nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, it is my hope that there will be a balance maintained on the court.

I think that the criterion ought to be: Who's the best person available for the job? And many of us have called for a nominee who comes from a background other than one of being a jurist. And now we have a person who is like that. ... You've got to go to America to find lawyers, and Dallas is as good a place as any to find lawyers.

It is my hope that the president will now send us a nominee for Justice O'Connor's spot in the mold of Judge Roberts,

There is no firmly established rule as to how much a nominee must say to be confirmed, ... While I personally consider it inappropriate to ask a nominee how he would vote on a specific matter likely to come before the court, senators may ask whatever they choose and the nominee is similarly free to respond as he chooses.

If there are backroom assurances and if there are backroom deals and if there is something which bears upon a precondition as to how a nominee is going to vote, I think that's a matter that ought to be known.

The breadth and scope of the proposed amendments are such that they will not only have serious, adverse economic and practical implications for legitimate industries but could very likely place (the current reporting law) into a questionable constitutional stature which would threaten to undermine our shared goal of protecting children from exploitation,

If there was a telephone call where someone gave assurances about how she's going to vote in a case, you bet that's something we'd look into, ... Absolutely. It is not tolerable to have any commitments about how a nominee would vote on a case. Not tolerable.

What I'm referring to are all of the forces which are at work out here commanding media attention and commanding public attention, ... There's been more controversy before this nominee has uttered a formal word than I have ever heard.

We all have a responsibility to ask probing questions to determine qualification beyond academic and professional standing.

Hearings for a Supreme Court nominee should not have a political tilt for either Republicans or Democrats, ... They should, in substantive fact and in perception, be for all Americans.