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Senators weigh in on Supreme Court choice

WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Senators on Sunday called on President Barack Obama to look beyond the bench for a nominee to replace retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

In appearances on "Fox News Sunday," Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and John Ensign, R-Nev., said there does not have to be a partisan fight over who replaces Souter, who plans to retire this summer.

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Durbin said the Democratic president wants the justices "to try to understand the real world we live in and the impact of some of these decisions. Apply the law, but do it in a sensible fashion."

Ensign said there should be no litmus tests on issues such as abortion because "that in and of itself prejudices them in the future."

Ensign urged Obama not to seek a nominee who would be an activist judge.

"Our courts have been turning the legislative branch at the state level, as well as at the federal level, upside-down because too many of them actually want to become legislators instead of just justices," he said.

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