Garland right choice to lead Justice

The following is from a Los Angeles Times editorial:

After four years of a president who regarded the attorney general as his personal lawyer, it was vital that President-elect Joe Biden choose a head of the Justice Department whose independence and professionalism would be beyond dispute. Biden has risen to that challenge with his choice of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Merrick B. Garland.

Garland wasn’t someone who had endorsed Biden — as a federal judge he had to remain above politics. He would also bring an impeccable reputation earned as a prosecutor, Justice Department official and judge. That the Republican-controlled Senate refused to act on President Barack Obama’s nomination of Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016 was a travesty.

Some Biden supporters had pressed the president-elect, as part of his commitment to a diverse administration, to name an African-american as attorney general. Others worry that Garland, a former prosecutor who often ruled for the government in criminal cases, isn’t the face of an administration dedicated to criminal justice reform.

These concerns are understandable, but unpersuasive. Biden has emphasized diversity in his appointments, and he reportedly will do so in filling other high-level positions in the Justice Department with appointees who also can be expected to emphasize aggressive enforcement of civil rights.

After Trump and former Attorney General William Barr undermined the Justice Department’s image as an impartial enforcer of criminal law, Biden’s overriding priority is to restore the department’s reputation for integrity. To accomplish that mission, Garland is an inspired choice.