Washington Panorama
July 2005
Wow! Talk about a shocker at the end of June. The announced retirement of Sandra Day O’Connor has really taken the nation and newspaper pundits by surprise.
Just a week ago, on Wednesday, June 22, Jan Crawford Greenburg of the Chicago Tribune wrote of the possible retirement of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Greenburg, Washington Bureau Chief for the Tribby wrote: “William Rehnquist — perhaps as early as next week — the White House has narrowed its list to a handful of federal appeals court judges and has conducted interviews with leading contenders, a senior administration official said Tuesday.
Senior White House officials and Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales have interviewed top candidates and briefed President Bush, but the president has not made a decision, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
White House officials also consider Gonzales to be a possible nominee, according to the official and other sources close to the administration. But the focus has been on the other judges, leaving Gonzales in a separate category because of the president’s longstanding familiarity with him, the official said.”
But it wasn’t Rehnquist who retired. And there are continuing reports that Rehnquist s health is improving.
If the White House was preparing prospective nominees to replace Rehnquist, the question is whether any of them would also be considered replacements for O Connor. Again, according to the research of Greenburg and staff:
“The White House has focused on several nominees with established conservative records: Judges J. Michael Luttig and J. Harvie Wilkinson of the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Court of Appeals, and Judge Samuel Alito of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Court of Appeals.
The official said the administration also has considered judges Bush has nominated to the federal appeals courts, including John Roberts of the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C.; Michael McConnell, of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Court of Appeals; and William Pryor, of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Court of Appeals.
Of those nominees, Luttig, Alito and Roberts have emerged as leading contenders, sources close to the White House said. But Wilkinson remains very much in consideration, the administration official said. Luttig, 51, is the most frequently mentioned frontrunner whose nomination would immediately energize conservative groups. An appellate judge on the prestigious 4th circuit for 14 years, he is known as a principled conservative with a keen intellect and crisp writing style.
Alito, 55, is a New Jersey native often called “Scalito” because he shares Scalia’s conservative views, but not his sharp elbows. Like Luttig, he was nominated to the appeals court by President George H.W. Bush. He also worked in the Reagan administration’s Justice Department before being tapped as U.S. attorney for New Jersey in 1987, a post he held three years until nominated to the 3rd circuit.
Roberts, 50, has seen his stock rise in recent months. Widely considered one of the top appellate lawyers to argue before the Supreme Court, Roberts was first nominated to the bench near the end of the elder Bush’s presidency, and the nomination died in the Senate. He was confirmed two years ago with bipartisan support, but less is known about his views than those of other contenders.
At 61, Wilkinson is the oldest of the likely contenders, which is a strike against him, sources said. A courtly Virginian who once taught law and served as editorial page editor of The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Wilkinson also worked in the Reagan Justice Department.”
The short list II?
MICHAEL McCONNELL — Federal appeals court judge, a former University of Chicago Law School professor, is seen as too unpredictable.
J. HARVIE WILKINSON — Federal appeals court judge has an established conservative record, but at 61 is the oldest of the likely contenders. He also once taught law school and was a newspaper editor in Virginia
It will take about six weeks for the Senate to gin up hearings once a nomination is made by President Bush, and Bush has made it clear that his nomination will come in time for the Senate to act before the October term of the Supreme Court.
We need to prepare ourselves by looking for more information on those posited as possibles by Greenburg, and to keep our eyes and ears open so that we can advise our senators when the time for a vote comes. Prepare to watch the hearings on CSPAN if it is on your cable system.
Become an active player in selecting the next Supreme Court Justice...and watch this space for announcements of other retirements from the Court.
Editor’s note: “Tony” Grudnoski is President of the Marquette SERA hapter and SERA’s Washington “Reporter.” He may be reached at 216 W. Hewitt Ave., Marquette 49855; Ph. 906/228-8670; e-mail tonyg25@hotmail.com.
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