Following the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Supreme Court nominee Faustino Fernandez-Vina, Sen. Nicholas Scutari, chair of the committee, sat down with NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider to speak about the proceeding.
Scutari said that his impression of Fernandez-Vina is that he is a very nice man, is pleasant to speak to, has a great personality and has a nice personal story.
“He has a lot of experience that we look for in a Supreme Court justice,” Scutari added.
Scutari had concerns with some of Fernandez-Vina’s rulings pertaining to judges and juries. He said, “I think it is extremely important that our judges give great deference to our civil jury trial system.”
The reason that Fernanadez-Vina got his hearing first over other candidates is because he is a Republican replacing a Republican so it would not interrupt the balance of the courtroom, Scutari explained.
Fernandez-Vina had an extensive record and went through an extensive interview process, according to Scutari.