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Jewish World Review June 30, 2005 / 23 Sivan, 5765 Candidates for the Supreme Court: Judging the short list By Jonathan Turley
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
With the anticipated retirement of Chief Justice William Rehnquist,
speculation is rife on the possible nominees on President Bush's short list.
Fortunately for Supreme Court handicappers, Bush has only a couple of simple
known criteria. First, he wants ideological consistency. Second, he wants
longevity. Short of nominating an embryonic stem cell, the White House would
prefer a baby boomer with long-term potential. A few candidates have emerged
as leading short-listers. For simplicity, each will be rated below based on
the gold standard for conservative purity: Karl Rove. On the Rove-o-meter,
five Roves represents the purest conservatism while one would represent
marginal conservatism.
Called "Scalito" for his unyielding ideological bent in the mold of Justice
Antonin Scalia.
Pluses: Bright, respected and only 55 years old.
Minuses: Previously reversed by the Supreme Court, including a 5-4 reversal
last week in a death penalty case. Alito would also trigger a fierce
abortion debate over a past opinion supporting state restrictions.
A former district court judge, Garza, 58, is an oft-mentioned short-lister.
What he lacks in intellectual fervor, he makes up in ideological purity.
Pluses: A former Marine, Garza has the cherished Texas connection and would
give Bush the added legacy item of appointing the court's first Hispanic.
Minuses: Garza would also ignite the abortion issue in confirmation. Among
other controversial decisions, Garza has questioned the legitimacy of Roe v.
Wade and called the decision "inimical to the Constitution."
Ultimate inside track candidate who already served as a Texas Supreme Court
justice.
Pluses: A Bush trifecta: Only 49, a Texan, Hispanic.
Minuses: Viewed by conservatives as unreliable on abortion due to rulings
against parental notification. Liberals see him as tainted by a memo he
signed that appeared to endorse torture. He relied on the empty-suit defense
in Senate confirmation hearing: I don't actually read or write my memos, I
only sign them. That may not fly for a lifetime appointment.
Jones has been a short-lister longer than some of her competitors have been
judges.
Pluses: A Texan, woman, 56 and consistently hard-right. You can set your
conservative clock by her.
Minuses: A former general counsel for the Texas GOP, she is seen as an
activist and has been criticized for her judicial demeanor. Previously
reversed by the court, including this month in a death penalty case.
A former law clerk to both Scalia (when he was an appellate judge) and
former chief justice Warren Burger, Luttig is the darling of the
conservative bar.
Pluses: Luttig is only 51 years old — 10 years younger than his colleague
J. Harvie Wilkinson of the 4th Circuit. He is smart and originally a Texas
native. Bush (who takes particular interest in stories of family hardship)
might also be drawn to the fact that Luttig's father was a murder victim in
a 1994 carjacking in Texas.
Minuses: Luttig wrote the decision striking down the 1994 Violence Against
Women Act, a decision affirmed by the Supreme Court. He is on the "hit list"
for liberals as someone who would restart the "Federalism Revolution,"
decrease the rights of criminal defendants and curtail abortion rights.
Appointed in 2002, McConnell is a former University of Chicago law professor
who would be the perfect play pal for Scalia.
Pluses: McConnell is a respected intellectual, and Bush would like his take
on the separation of church and state (he would reduce the separation). At
50, he is also the right age for a legacy appointment.
Minuses: McConnell would put the role of religion at the heart of a
confirmation fight. Libertarians fear he would reduce the wall of separation
of church and state to little more than a constitutional speed bump.
A former Supreme Court clerk to Justice Lewis Powell and former law
professor, Wilkinson is given high marks for intellect and demeanor.
Pluses: Wilkinson is a well-liked judge who would bring both ideological
brawn and theoretical brains to the job.
Minuses: He is perhaps the most conservative judge on the most conservative
circuit in the country. He has been reversed by the Supreme Court, including
the recent enemy combatant decision, in which his view of absolute
presidential authority was too extreme even for Chief Justice Rehnquist. He
is also 61, a tad older than the White House would prefer.
Of course, it is notable that a majority of the current court members were
not on the leading lists before their nominations. Thus, if history is a
measure, this current short list is guaranteed to have an accuracy at least
equal to a purely random selection of names.
Nevertheless, in a city without its own race track, the Supreme Court
sweepstakes remains the only game in town.
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JWR contributor Jonathan Turley is a law professor at George Washington University. Click here to visit his website. Comment by clicking here. © 2005, Jonathan Turley |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
