President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., right, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, left, the ranking member, to discuss the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, in Washington. Credit: Patrick Semansky / AP

Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com

Everyone from Ronald Currier ( letter to the BDN on Feb. 1) to  Sen. Susan Collins has expressed amazement and disappointment that in seeking diversity on the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden has narrowed his choice to less than 10% of the population as if there could not be anyone in that group who is qualified. These pundits and politicians overlook the fact that all of the six member conservative majority of the Court were selected from a much smaller pool known as the Federalist Society.

The society screens and holds members to a narrow set of legal sophistry designed to protect wealth. The society has been  funded by the Koch, Mellon-Scaife, Mercer families and their like. It is time to move beyond selections from this narrow group.

Don C. Payne

Holden