Judge Merrick Garland speaks at an awards breakfast for pro bono counsel at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington on April 21. | AP Photo Garland speech may signal new phase in confirmation effort

President Barack Obama's embattled choice for the Supreme Court — D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland — did something Thursday that's highly unusual for judicial nominees: he delivered a public speech.

Making an unannounced appearance at an annual breakfast that the federal courts hold to salute Washington law firms active in pro bono work, the veteran jurist paid tribute to lawyers who contribute time to public causes and he linked that work to his own biography. It's the kind of address that's relatively common for a sitting judge to make, but one that previous high-profile court nominees have studiously avoided.


In a roughly five-minute speech to about 100 lawyers and judges gathered in the atrium of the federal courthouse in the shadow of the Capitol, Garland said "their and your commitment to public service and the law is the same commitment that has shaped the choices that I have made throughout my career."

He added that by "helping to provide access to justice for the underprivileged all of you are helping to shore up the rule of the law that is the foundation of a just society."

With a White House camera crew on hand along with a few members of the press, Garland said such voluntarism on the part of lawyers is critical to maintaining public confidence in the legal system, especially among the poor.

"Without legal assistance poor individuals and families have no real access to justice. Without access to justice, the promise of equal justice rings hollow. Without equal justice under law, faith in the rule of law the foundation of our civil society is at risk," he declared.

While Garland's remarks themselves were uncontroversial, they represented a symbolic escalation of the daily campaign the White House and its allies have been mounting to pressure Senate Republicans to grant him a hearing and a vote.

Before Garland was selected by Obama last month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced that no hearings would be held or votes taken on any such nominee until a new president is sworn in in January. While some Republican senators have agreed to meet with Garland and two have even called for hearings, there has been no sign those moves have swayed McConnell or Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

Some lawyers and journalists have asked the White House whether Garland might break with the usual protocol for nominees by granting television interviews or speaking out in more traditional forums for judges such as law schools and legal conferences.

White House aides have said that interviews are unlikely, but previously they have not ruled out Garland speaking at legal events.

"We are very committed to playing this straight and trying to engage in this process in a way that maximizes the likelihood that Chief Judge Garland ends up on the Supreme Court, but in a way that respects the process," Obama adviser Brian Deese said at a POLITICO Playbook breakfast earlier this month. "At the same time, Chief Judge Garland still is serving as chief judge of the D.C. Circuit. He has obligations associated with that and has a life that he's going to continue to lead.....He will be out and part of the communities that he has always traditionally been, going forward....He is going to do it with all of the respect and all of the preparation that that entails."

Despite those comments, Garland appears to have largely suspended his work as a D.C. Circuit judge, at least for now. He stopped hearing cases after his nomination was announced last month. He was replaced on D.C. Circuit panels where he was scheduled to sit in March and April and has not been assigned to any cases set for argument next month. In addition, Garland hasn't joined in or written any opinions issued since he was nominated.

However, Garland continues to serve as the D.C. Circuit's chief judge. And while his public speech Thursday is unusual for a nominee, it's not an aberration for him. He's been attending this pro bono breakfast since 2003 and has spoken at the event since 2013.

One potential venue for Garland to speak out is an upcoming annual meeting of the American Constitution Society, a liberal-leaning lawyers group that often hosts federal judges to deliver speeches or sit on moot court panels. Garland spoke there in 2006 and 2007. This year's session is set to take place in Washington in early June.

Despite Garland's unusual public appearance Thursday morning, there was no sign he's abandoning the more traditional drive to advance his nomination by conferring with senators. Garland is scheduled to sit down separately with Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) Thursday afternoon.

Obama has already taken the campaign for Garland on the road, to the University of Chicago law school where he taught constitutional law before winning election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.