Conservatives Raise Alarms Over Liberal Record of Obama’s Supreme Court Pick

President Obama nominated a longtime federal appeals court judge to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. But even before the announcement became official Wednesday morning, conservative groups quickly expressed concern. Conservatives raised the alarm that the nominee was unacceptable as word leaked that Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, would be the president’s pick. Garland “would be a reliable fifth vote for a laundry list of extreme liberal priorities,” the Judicial Crisis Network wrote in a preemptive statement. Later, during a conference call with reporters, the group’s chief counsel, Carrie Severino, said “no one should be surprised.” More....