CALLAHAN SHOOTING UP THE CHARTS:

Latinas for Bush's short list (Linda P. Campbell, 9/20/05, Dallas Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

A Latina on the U.S. Supreme Court.

What a novel concept -- a Latina holding one of the highest ranking federal jobs that has nothing to do with autographing dollar bills.

(Five Latinas have held the post of U.S. Treasurer, all under Republican presidents.) [...]

Bush must decide what he most wants to accomplish with his next appointment.

If, as has been suggested, he's keen on naming the first Latino justice -- and not just to appoint Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, his longtime friend -- why not add more Latinas to the mix?

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who's sat on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York for seven years, often is mentioned, though far down the list. A Princeton University and Yale Law School graduate, she worked as a prosecutor in New York and was put on the federal bench by President George H.W. Bush. Maybe it works against her that President Bill Clinton promoted her to the appellate court.

If Bush wants his own appeals court judge, he might consider Consuelo Maria Callahan, who has as much time on the 9th Circuit as Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. had on the D.C. Circuit. Callahan graduated from Stanford University and Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento (where Justice Anthony Kennedy once taught), then worked as a prosecutor and judge in California.

If he prefers Ivy Leaguers, Bush could try U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga, whom he appointed in 2003. After graduating from Yale Law School, she worked as a Miami-Dade County prosecutor and was appointed to a state circuit court seat by Gov. Jeb Bush before moving to the federal bench.

Altonaga has dealt with a case involving a nativity scene on public property and a lawsuit over same-sex marriage laws. She even sentenced a child pornographer to 100 years in prison.