softheart
05-27-2003, 11:20 AM
TEXAS/USA:
Battle over high court nominees takes shape---3 Texans thought to be in
running
With 1 or 2 of the most prized and influential lifetime jobs in America
expected to open up soon, a fierce and partisan battle is taking form.
It's not a declared race, and the participants are expected to be above
politics, but the approaching closure of the Supreme Court's term is
sparking renewed speculation about prospective resignations from the high
court and likely nominees from President Bush to replace them.
At least 3 Texans are on the rumored short list for possible advancement
to the Supreme Court, which concludes its business for the year in July or
August.
Court watchers are tentatively predicting late summer retirements for
either Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 78, or Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor, 73.
Long-shot odds have both stepping down and creating 2 seats for Bush to
fill, although the last time the court had 2 vacancies was in 1972, when
President Nixon was in office.
"The smart money is on Rehnquist stepping down, because he clearly would
like to give President Bush an opportunity to appoint his successor," said
Jamin Raskin, a Supreme Court watcher and constitutional law expert at
American University.
As for O'Connor, a President Reagan nominee, "It's hard to know with her,"
Raskin said. "It's hard to predict how she'll vote on a case and hard to
know what's she's going to do."
Leading contenders to fill any vacancy include Alberto R. Gonzales, a
former Texas Supreme Court justice now serving as White House counsel for
Bush.
Also frequently mentioned is Judge Edith Jones of the 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Jones, a longtime Houstonian born in Philadelphia, is regarded as a fierce
conservative with a record of controversial rulings that likely would
trigger another showdown between Democrats and the White House over her
nomination.
Another Texan mentioned as a prospective nominee is Judge Emilio Garza of
San Antonio, also a member of the 5th Circuit.
All 3 are strong believers in the brand of federalism, or shifting power
from the federal government to the states, that Bush campaigned on but has
yet to prioritize as a national policy.
Each comes loaded with history and a professional record of articles and
opinions on incendiary issues such as abortion and the death penalty.
Democrats and interest groups, who have so far sidetracked 2 Bush judicial
nominees over conservatism and lack of disclosure, are signaling their
willingness to do battle if Bush promotes a nominee to the Supreme Court
deemed too ideologically conservative.
"Our narrowly divided Supreme Court continues to issue razor-thin 5-4
decisions on critical issues of our day," Democratic National Committee
Chairman Terry McAuliffe told supporters recently.
While few rulings by the Supreme Court achieve high public profiles, many
Americans noted firsthand the influence the court can have when it was
asked to decide the outcome of the 2000 presidential election.
"In my lifetime, in your lifetime, the Supreme Court has been a tremendous
vehicle of progress for this nation," McAuliffe said.
"Republicans are going to make this a fight about process. But we know
it's really a fight about values."
Gonzales, 47, is a favorite of Bush and one of the president's closest
advisers. Gonzales, who grew up in Houston, also is a key architect of
many of Bush's more controversial policies and is the force behind White
House judicial nominations.
Even so, Gonzales has a record that tends to raise concern with both
liberals and conservatives.
He defended the Bush administration's decision to file a brief with the
Supreme Court on behalf of white students opposing affirmative action
policies at the University of Michigan.
He also has advocated more government secrecy, an expansion of White House
powers and a more conservative federal judiciary.
Yet Gonzales also is viewed with alarm by some social conservatives, in
part for his history on the Texas Supreme Court, where he often sided with
the more moderate GOP justices.
In one instance, Gonzales joined the majority in allowing a minor to
bypass state law requiring that she notify her parents before having an
abortion.
In that case, Gonzales accused fellow Justice Priscilla Owen, siding with
the minority, "of an unconscionable act of judicial activism" in striving
to create more legal hurdles for the minor.
Once in the White House, Gonzales promoted Owen for a vacancy on the 5th
Circuit, saying later that too much was being made of his swipe against
her opinion on the abortion case.
From the start, Owen proved a tough sell on Capitol Hill. For weeks,
Senate Democrats have sidetracked her confirmation through a filibuster
that Republicans have been unable to break.
Also getting the filibuster treatment on the floor is Miguel Estrada, a
Justice Department lawyer nominated to a Washington, D.C., federal appeals
court bench.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, former state Supreme Court justice
and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he sees the ongoing
filibusters as a precursor to the battle over any future Supreme Court
nominees.
"The filibusters now are occurring in part because the Democratic
leadership supporting them are able to operate sort of below the line of
sight for most Americans," Cornyn said.
If Democrats try a similar tactic on Supreme Court nominees, "any cover
they have will be blown," Cornyn said.
"It will be much more front and center in the consciousness of the
American people."
While Bush could risk alienating his base by nominating Gonzales, if he
succeeds he would be the first to place an Hispanic on the nation's high
court -- a move that would help him in the upcoming presidential election.
It also would put pressure on Democrats to support Gonzales, since
Republicans believe many Hispanics would cross party lines to support a
Hispanic Supreme Court nominee.
And Gonzales is still far less controversial than Jones, whose record
reportedly includes complaining during a teleconference with lawyers on an
impending execution matter that she was missing her 6-year-old son's
birthday party.
Jones also has published articles on how to expedite death penalty
appeals, opposed a federal ban on machine guns and voted to uphold the
conviction of accused murderer Calvin Burdine, whose lawyer napped during
trial.
First surfacing as a likely nominee in 1991 during the term of the current
president's father, Jones was immediately assailed by critics as too
conservative.
Less conservative and also less controversial is her fellow 5th Circuit
justice, Garza, who has at times been less of a hard-liner than Jones on
the death penalty.
At the same time, Garza's past opinions on abortion -- he once said the
landmark Roe v. Wade case legalizing abortion "stood on precarious
constitutional footing" -- could generate the kind of protest that bogs
down a nomination.
In addition to the Texans frequently mentioned as prospective nominees are
Judges J. Harvie Wilkinson and Michael Luttig of the 4th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals in Virginia, a body considered the most conservative in
the judiciary.
Other names mentioned by experts include Deputy Attorney General Larry
Thompson, who played a key role in the investigation of Enron Corp.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
Battle over high court nominees takes shape---3 Texans thought to be in
running
With 1 or 2 of the most prized and influential lifetime jobs in America
expected to open up soon, a fierce and partisan battle is taking form.
It's not a declared race, and the participants are expected to be above
politics, but the approaching closure of the Supreme Court's term is
sparking renewed speculation about prospective resignations from the high
court and likely nominees from President Bush to replace them.
At least 3 Texans are on the rumored short list for possible advancement
to the Supreme Court, which concludes its business for the year in July or
August.
Court watchers are tentatively predicting late summer retirements for
either Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 78, or Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor, 73.
Long-shot odds have both stepping down and creating 2 seats for Bush to
fill, although the last time the court had 2 vacancies was in 1972, when
President Nixon was in office.
"The smart money is on Rehnquist stepping down, because he clearly would
like to give President Bush an opportunity to appoint his successor," said
Jamin Raskin, a Supreme Court watcher and constitutional law expert at
American University.
As for O'Connor, a President Reagan nominee, "It's hard to know with her,"
Raskin said. "It's hard to predict how she'll vote on a case and hard to
know what's she's going to do."
Leading contenders to fill any vacancy include Alberto R. Gonzales, a
former Texas Supreme Court justice now serving as White House counsel for
Bush.
Also frequently mentioned is Judge Edith Jones of the 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Jones, a longtime Houstonian born in Philadelphia, is regarded as a fierce
conservative with a record of controversial rulings that likely would
trigger another showdown between Democrats and the White House over her
nomination.
Another Texan mentioned as a prospective nominee is Judge Emilio Garza of
San Antonio, also a member of the 5th Circuit.
All 3 are strong believers in the brand of federalism, or shifting power
from the federal government to the states, that Bush campaigned on but has
yet to prioritize as a national policy.
Each comes loaded with history and a professional record of articles and
opinions on incendiary issues such as abortion and the death penalty.
Democrats and interest groups, who have so far sidetracked 2 Bush judicial
nominees over conservatism and lack of disclosure, are signaling their
willingness to do battle if Bush promotes a nominee to the Supreme Court
deemed too ideologically conservative.
"Our narrowly divided Supreme Court continues to issue razor-thin 5-4
decisions on critical issues of our day," Democratic National Committee
Chairman Terry McAuliffe told supporters recently.
While few rulings by the Supreme Court achieve high public profiles, many
Americans noted firsthand the influence the court can have when it was
asked to decide the outcome of the 2000 presidential election.
"In my lifetime, in your lifetime, the Supreme Court has been a tremendous
vehicle of progress for this nation," McAuliffe said.
"Republicans are going to make this a fight about process. But we know
it's really a fight about values."
Gonzales, 47, is a favorite of Bush and one of the president's closest
advisers. Gonzales, who grew up in Houston, also is a key architect of
many of Bush's more controversial policies and is the force behind White
House judicial nominations.
Even so, Gonzales has a record that tends to raise concern with both
liberals and conservatives.
He defended the Bush administration's decision to file a brief with the
Supreme Court on behalf of white students opposing affirmative action
policies at the University of Michigan.
He also has advocated more government secrecy, an expansion of White House
powers and a more conservative federal judiciary.
Yet Gonzales also is viewed with alarm by some social conservatives, in
part for his history on the Texas Supreme Court, where he often sided with
the more moderate GOP justices.
In one instance, Gonzales joined the majority in allowing a minor to
bypass state law requiring that she notify her parents before having an
abortion.
In that case, Gonzales accused fellow Justice Priscilla Owen, siding with
the minority, "of an unconscionable act of judicial activism" in striving
to create more legal hurdles for the minor.
Once in the White House, Gonzales promoted Owen for a vacancy on the 5th
Circuit, saying later that too much was being made of his swipe against
her opinion on the abortion case.
From the start, Owen proved a tough sell on Capitol Hill. For weeks,
Senate Democrats have sidetracked her confirmation through a filibuster
that Republicans have been unable to break.
Also getting the filibuster treatment on the floor is Miguel Estrada, a
Justice Department lawyer nominated to a Washington, D.C., federal appeals
court bench.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, former state Supreme Court justice
and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he sees the ongoing
filibusters as a precursor to the battle over any future Supreme Court
nominees.
"The filibusters now are occurring in part because the Democratic
leadership supporting them are able to operate sort of below the line of
sight for most Americans," Cornyn said.
If Democrats try a similar tactic on Supreme Court nominees, "any cover
they have will be blown," Cornyn said.
"It will be much more front and center in the consciousness of the
American people."
While Bush could risk alienating his base by nominating Gonzales, if he
succeeds he would be the first to place an Hispanic on the nation's high
court -- a move that would help him in the upcoming presidential election.
It also would put pressure on Democrats to support Gonzales, since
Republicans believe many Hispanics would cross party lines to support a
Hispanic Supreme Court nominee.
And Gonzales is still far less controversial than Jones, whose record
reportedly includes complaining during a teleconference with lawyers on an
impending execution matter that she was missing her 6-year-old son's
birthday party.
Jones also has published articles on how to expedite death penalty
appeals, opposed a federal ban on machine guns and voted to uphold the
conviction of accused murderer Calvin Burdine, whose lawyer napped during
trial.
First surfacing as a likely nominee in 1991 during the term of the current
president's father, Jones was immediately assailed by critics as too
conservative.
Less conservative and also less controversial is her fellow 5th Circuit
justice, Garza, who has at times been less of a hard-liner than Jones on
the death penalty.
At the same time, Garza's past opinions on abortion -- he once said the
landmark Roe v. Wade case legalizing abortion "stood on precarious
constitutional footing" -- could generate the kind of protest that bogs
down a nomination.
In addition to the Texans frequently mentioned as prospective nominees are
Judges J. Harvie Wilkinson and Michael Luttig of the 4th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals in Virginia, a body considered the most conservative in
the judiciary.
Other names mentioned by experts include Deputy Attorney General Larry
Thompson, who played a key role in the investigation of Enron Corp.
(source: Houston Chronicle)