High Court Selection Process Winds Down

High Court Selection Process Winds Down
Sep 27 6:25 PM US/Eastern
By DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON

President Bush, close to nominating a successor to retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, has narrowed his list to a handful of candidates that outside advisers say includes federal judges and two people who have never banged a gavel _ corporate attorney Larry Thompson and White House counsel Harriet Miers.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Tuesday that Bush had pledged to consult with senators about his selection and said, "I think we were essentially wrapping that process up as early as today."

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/27/D8CSSDT8B.html

I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be Miers. While she hasn't previously served as a judge and has no Supreme Court litigation experience, she is a woman and she was an at large City Council member, which answers critics who have pointed out that with O'Connor's resignation, the court will lack anyone with "political" experience. She's going to be largely a blank slate, which gives her an advantage over torture memo guy Gonzalez. And the White House can validly claim attorney-client privilege over anything she's done since being named to the WH counsel's office.

Here's what little I could learn about her:

"Born and raised in Dallas, Miers, 59, is a graduate of Southern Methodist University. She went on to law school at SMU, earning her law degree in 1970 and going on to clerk for a federal judge in Dallas. In an era when there were few female lawyers, Miers set out for the top.

According to published reports, she was the first woman hired by Locke Purnell Boren Laney & Neely, a Dallas firm whose history extends to the 1890s. She went on to become a top commercial litigator whose clients included Microsoft and the Walt Disney Co.

Miers, who is not married and does not have children, was active in professional organizations and eventually was elected head of the Dallas and Texas bar associations, where she was known for encouraging members to do pro bono work.

Miers met Bush in the 1980s, and was drafted to work as counsel for his 1994 gubernatorial campaign. In 1995, he appointed her to the Texas Lottery Commission. After working as a lawyer in Bush’s presidential campaign, she came to Washington with him in 2001.


onenote

I doubt we see a nominee under 55.

Batchelder: 61
Jones: 56
Corrigan: 57

Only Owen (51) and Williams (54) are under 55. I doubt the fact Miers is a couple of years older would make that much difference. I also think Chimpy has a hard-on to name someone from Texas.

onenote