November 15, 2004
EIGHT TENTHS OF THE LAW:
And the Nominees Are . . .: Here's a short list of who might be on deck for the Supreme Court. (MELANIE KIRKPATRICK, November 15, 2004, Wall Street Journal)
Eight names--noted nearby--turn up often in speculation. Interest groups have had four years to compile, scrutinize and spin every word ever uttered or put on paper by each of the presumed candidates. If nominated, all would be attacked from the left for the usual Roe reasons--and some would face criticism from the right as well. Both sides are raring to go.The Short List 10
Possible Bush nominees for the Supreme Court
Samuel Alito Jr., 54 Third Circuit
Janice Rogers Brown, 55 Calif. Supreme Court
Miguel Estrada, 43 Washington Attorney
Emilio Garza, 57 Fifth Circuit
Edith Jones, 55 Fifth Circuit
J. Michael Luttig, 50 Fourth Circuit
John Roberts, 49 D.C. Circuit
J. Harvie Wilkinson, 60 Fourth CircuitTwo men mentioned for chief justice are J. Harvie Wilkinson and John Roberts. Both have the intellectual firepower, writing skills and temperament for the job; both are well-respected in liberal legal circles. "They are to the right what Justice (Stephen) Breyer and Justice (Ruth Bader) Ginsburg are to the left," says a source close to the White House. Judge Roberts was confirmed unanimously to the appeals bench last year.
Judge Wilkinson could have a harder time. He would face criticism from the left for his affirmative-action opinions and from the right from pro-lifers who cite passages in a 1976 law review article and a 1998 opinion to suggest he might be squishy on Roe. He also carries a potentially damaging "most conservative" label, thanks to an analysis of likely nominees by Judicature magazine.
As for associate justice, the remaining six on the list could expect varying degrees of confirmation angst. Emilio Garza has called Roe "judicial legislation" and said it should be overturned, even while faithfully applying it to the cases that have come before him. J. Michael Luttig and Janice Rogers Brown carry reputations of being difficult to work with. Sam Alito's biggest liability is his nickname, "Scalito," tying him to liberal bogeyman Justice Antonin Scalia. Liberals would have a field day with Edith Jones, whose record includes a range of hard-core decisions on social issues.
It'll be hard to avoid the temptation to make Democrats filibuster Brown and Estrada again, this time in the glare of the national media and with the President making inroads among Latinos and blacks. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 15, 2004 3:43 PM
Git-R-Done!
Posted by: JimGooding at November 15, 2004 4:39 PMSome Democrats apparently are hoping it will be Luttig. According to the rumor mill, very, very shortly after leaving the Supreme Court as a Special Assistant to the Chief Justice, while working at the DC office of New York law firm, Luttig participated in editing and drafting briefs on cases that were already before the Court when he was working there. The rules of the Court very explicitly set a time limit on exactly how long former clerks and employees have to recuse themselves from Court work, and Luttig ignored that rule. It might not sound like much to outsiders, but if true it is a first class and easily proven ethical breach. Democrats are hoping that Bush will lead with Luttig, a hard conservative, and that they can turn the issue into one of ethics and propriety, much as happened with Haynsworth and Carswell a generation ago. If they can draw blood and kill a Luttig nomination for reasons other than ideology, the theory goes, they might be able to push Bush to a moderate in order to get a confirmation.
Also hurting Luttig is that his career owes more to connections and pull than to merit. Wilkinson, for example, was near the top of his class at law school at Virginia, and later taught there. Luttig was below the middle of his class, and supposedly only got a job at the White House counselīs office through family connections. Once in the White House, he supposedly helped put Scalia on the DC Circuit with Scalia committing in return to hire him as a law clerk. Again, such tales of privilege and inside deal cutting are not the story the Bush team wants the critical Supreme Court nomination to focus on.
If Bush wants to get a conservative confirmed, he needs to have his team do extraordinarily thorough background checks. The level of scrutiny will be intense, and he needs to have candidates with no skeletons in their closets.
Posted by: at November 18, 2004 6:54 PM