Obama and the Supreme Court: The next big brawl?

[Dos Equis]

Should be an issue in November, but I doubt we hear much about it (just like the last election):

Obama and the Supreme Court: The next big brawl?

Remember last week's little dust-up between Chief Justice John Roberts and the Obama White House?

That will look like a frat party compared to the battle over the next Supreme Court opening.

We should know soon whether there will be one. Justice John Paul Stevens, who turns 90 years old on April 20, tells The New Yorker magazine he will probably decide whether to retire next month as well.

"Well, I still have options," Stevens said to reporter Jeffrey Toobin. "When I decided to just hire one clerk, three of my four clerks last year said they'd work for me next year if I wanted them to. So I have my options still. And then I'll have to decide soon."

Toobin writes: "On March 8th, he told me that he would make up his mind in about a month."

Stevens is considered the leader of the court's liberal wing, even though he was nominated by Republican President Gerald Ford back in 1975. In the three-and-a-half decades since, American politics -- and the politics surrounding the Supreme Court -- have shifted to the point where Stevens' style of moderate Republicanism is now considered closer to the Democrats.

Obama's first high court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, won confirmation without too much trouble. A second court fight could be tougher, especially with Republicans threatening legislative retaliation if Democrats use reconciliation to pass a health care bill. And remember the GOP has just enough senators to stage a filibuster. And it's an election year.

In last week's kerfuffle, Roberts questioned whether justices should attend the annual State of the Union speech, given Obama's criticism this year of a recent court ruling and the resulting cheers by fellow Democrats.

It's a good bet Roberts won't attend the 2011 State of the Union. But will a new Obama-appointed justice be there instead?

http://www.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/03/obama-and-the-supreme-court-the-next-big-brawl/1

[Dos Equis]

Justice Stevens says he'll retire in Obama's term
Posted 4/3/2010
by Charles Dharapak, AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens says he "will surely" retire while President Barack Obama is still in office, giving the president the opportunity to maintain the high court's ideological balance.

Stevens said in newspaper interviews on the Web Saturday that he will decide soon on the timing of his retirement, whether it will be this year or next. Stevens, the leader of the court's liberals, turns 90 this month and is the oldest justice.

His departure would give Obama his second nomination to the court, enabling him to ensure there would continue to be at least four liberal-leaning justices. The high court is often split 5 to 4 on major cases, with the vote of moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy often deciding which side prevails.

"I will surely do it while he's still president," Stevens told The Washington Post.

But Stevens, who was named to the court by Republican President Gerald R. Ford in 1975, says he still loves the job, and says he continues to write the first draft of his own opinions.

Stevens says if it ever gets to point where he stopped doing that, it would be a sign he wasn't up to the job anymore.

Stevens is the second-oldest justice in the court's history, after Oliver Wendell Holmes. He is the seventh-longest-serving justice, with more than 34 years on the court.

Another liberal, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, had surgery last year for early-stage pancreatic cancer. While Ginsburg has been her usual energetic self, including frequent speaking engagements and a teaching stint in Europe, long-term survival rates for pancreatic cancer are low.

Ginsburg, 77, has said she intends to serve into her early 80s, and she has hired her clerks for the court term that begins in October 2010.

Justices are reluctant to retire in bunches, mainly because they want the nine-member court as close to full strength as possible.

Stevens also is nearing two longevity records. When he joined the court, he replaced the longest-serving justice, William O. Douglas, and would need to serve until mid-July 2012 to top that service record. He would surpass Holmes as the oldest sitting justice if he were to remain on the court until Feb. 24, 2011.

"I do have to fish or cut bait, just for my own personal peace of mind and also in fairness to the process," Stevens told The New York Times. "The president and the Senate need plenty of time to fill a vacancy."

http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?action=post;topic=324413.0;num_replies=0

[24KT]

"The title is misleading if this is talking about some court in Canada America (I didn't read the story)."

What ignorant jackasses some people can be. 

[Dos Equis]

"The title is misleading if this is talking about some court in Canada America (I didn't read the story)."

What ignorant jackasses some people can be. 

LOL.  Well we all can't have a 160 IQ like you Einstein. 

And yes, the United States Supreme Court is relevant.  The Canada "supreme court" is not.  Nobody cares who sits on the Canada "supreme court." 

[JohnC1908]

If Obama had his way there would be one branch of govt.

[George Whorewell]

LOL.  Well we all can't have a 160 IQ like you Einstein. 

And yes, the United States Supreme Court is relevant.  The Canada "supreme court" is not.  Nobody cares who sits on the Canada "supreme court." 

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OO I'm sure that Jag was fooled into clicking on this thread because she thought that Prez Obama was going to have a brawl with the Canadian Supreme Court. 

[Dos Equis]

If Obama had his way there would be one branch of govt.

I just hope doesn't get the opportunity to do too much damage before 2012.

[Dos Equis]

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OO I'm sure that Jag was fooled into clicking on this thread because she thought that Prez Obama was going to have a brawl with the Canadian Supreme Court. 

 

[24KT]

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OO I'm sure that Jag was fooled into clicking on this thread because she thought that Prez Obama was going to have a brawl with the Canadian Supreme Court. 

You wish!

[Soul Crusher]

We are probably going to get an asian lefty for the court. 

[LurkerNoMore]

We are probably going to get an asian lefty for the court. 

Or a blaque.

[BM OUT]

Either way,its a super lib replacing a super lib.

[Dos Equis]

Guessing Game Begins Over Obama Pick for Stevens' Supreme Court Seat
By Lee Ross  - FOXNews.com
   
U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan (l), and Judge Diane Pamela Wood of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (r) are two of the leading candidates to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. (AP)

Elena Kagan and Diane Wood are hardly household names but in the days ahead reports will invariably come out about "short lists" and names of people most Americans have never heard of as possible replacements for retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

Even before President Obama announces his selection, Kagan, Wood and several others will undoubtedly be given an in-depth and very public biographical examination.

Friday's announcement that Stevens will soon retire is merely the official announcement of a decision most Supreme Court observers expected. Otherwise obscure prognostication efforts by journalists and other court-watchers now turn to identifying his replacement. Obama is said to have about 10 names on his short list.
 
The top parlor game questions include whether Obama will nominate a fire-brand, hard core liberal who will energize the left and further enrage conservatives. Or maybe he will select someone perceived as a moderate who will breeze through the confirmation process.
 
"The timing, if it's going to be next summer, that may put the president in a position where he can't do somebody quite as controversial as he might otherwise have done because of the elections in the fall," lawyer Maureen Mahoney told an audience at the Smithsonian late last year. "He may have to moderate just a little bit more."

The timeline for selecting a new candidate is weeks, say White House aides. The confirmation team will work largely the same as it did when Sotomayor was nominated last year. White House Counsel Bob Bauer, who called Obama to inform the president of Stevens' decision, and the nominations team that includes Ron Klain and Cynthia Hogan, who have many years of experience working on both sides of Supreme Court nominations, will run the nomination process.

As he said when he nominated Sotomayor, Obama on Friday vowed to select a jurist with a "keen understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people."


"It will also be someone who, like Justice Stevens, knows that in a democracy, powerful interests must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens," he said.

The speculation on who will replace Stevens was going on long before the justice sent his resignation letter to Obama. The topic of Obama's second high court nomination came up during the battle over his first.

"It wouldn't at all surprise me if some of the very same people were back in the Oval Office," White House Chief of Staff David Axelrod said at the time Sotomayor beat out several also-rans.

Some of those people would include Appellate Court Judge Diane Wood, Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. In recent months most attention has been focused on Wood and Kagan.
 
Wood is well known in legal circles for her strong opinions on the Chicago-based Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. She was also part of the faculty at Chicago Law School when Obama taught constitutional law.  She is very familiar to Stevens who is responsible for overseeing the Seventh Circuit and is a Chicago native, though that connection would unlikely be a decisive factor into her selection.
 
If Wood is the pick -- or perhaps one of the many law professors perceived as liberals like Pam Karlan or Kathleen Sullivan --then the summer confirmation fight will be as explosive as ever, especially when the abortion issue enters the discussion. Wood has dissented against bans on partial-birth abortion.

Kagan is the former dean of the Harvard Law School and is well-regarded for her performance there in controlling a fractious faculty and reaching out to conservatives. She has already successfully navigated through the Senate confirmation process to become solicitor general.

But Kagan is also something of an unknown entity because she has never been a judge and as a result has a thin paper trail of past positions. She was also faulted by the group "Americans United for Life" for having criticized a high court ruling restricting federal funds on family planning.
 
In his Rose Garden remarks Friday, Obama said President Gerald Ford picked Stevens because he was "brilliant, non-ideological, pragmatic, and committed above all to justice, integrity and the rule of law."

The selection after the Watergate scandal was Ford's attempt to stay away from a divisive fight.
 
The most likely "consensus" pick that Obama could make in the Ford-Stevens model is Judge Merrick Garland of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. He was appointed to the appellate court by President Bill Clinton and is well-regarded for reaching out to his conservative colleagues to reach rulings.

It also doesn't hurt that two of Garland's former clerks now work in the Office of White House Counsel.

Of course, the president is free to select anyone he wants and speculation will likely run rampant in the weeks to come. 

Here is Fox News' assessment of the possible selections:
 
TIER ONE:
 
Diane Wood, 7th Circuit Court judge 
 
Elena Kagan, U.S. solicitor general
 
TIER TWO:
 
Merrick Garland, Judge, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
 
Leah Ward Sears, former Chief Justice of Georgia Supreme Court.   
 
Kathleen Sullivan, professor and former dean of Stanford Law School
 
Cass Sunstein, Former Chicago and Harvard Law Professor, leads Obama administration's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
 
Pam Karlan, Stanford Law professor
 
Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security secretary

Jennifer Granholm, Michigan governor
 
TIER THREE:
 
Rosemary Barkett, 11th Circuit Court judge   
 
Fortunato Benavides,  5th Circuit Court judge
 
Christine Arguello, U.S. District Court judge, Denver
 
Ruben Castillo, Judge U. District Court judge for the Northern District of Illinois
 
Karen Nelson Moore, 6th Circuit Court judge
 
Jose Cabranes, 2nd Circuit Court judge
 
David Tatel, D.C. Circuit Court judge

Deval Patrick, Massachusetts governor
 
Marsha Berzon, 9th Circuit Court judge
 
Eric Holder, U.S. attorney general
 
Charles Ogletree, Harvard Law School professor
 
Kim Wardlaw, 9th Circuit Court judge
 
Seth Waxman, former solicitor general, lawyer at Wilmer Hale
 
Harold Koh, former dean of Yale Law School, State Department Counsel   
 
Ken Salazar, interior secretary
 
OBAMA'S COURT OF APPEALS NOMINEES
 
Judge David Hamilton,  6th Circuit
 
Judge Andre Davis, 4th Circuit
 
Judge Gerard Lynch, 2nd Circuit
 
Judge Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr., 3rd Circuit
 
Judge Beverly B. Martin, 11th Circuit
 
Jane Branstetter Stranch, 6th Circuit
 
Judge Thomas Vanaskie, 3rd Circuit
 
Justice Barbara Milano Keenan, 4th Circuit
 
Judge Danny Chin, 2nd Circuit
 
Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, 1st Circuit
 
Judge Albert Diaz, 4th Circuit
 
Judge James Wynn, 4th Circuit
 
Judge Robert N. Chatigny, 2nd Circuit

Goodwin Liu: 9th Circuit
 
Scott M. Matheson, Jr., 10th Circuit

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/09/guessing-game-begins-obama-pick-stevens-supreme-court-seat/

[Soul Crusher]

I would love to see sunstein or napolitano.  What a complete mess that would turn in to.

[Dos Equis]

Potential Obama Nominees for the Supreme Court
Friday, 09 Apr 2010 

Sketches of potential candidates to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, listed alphabetically, with pros and cons on their possible nominations:

Merrick B. Garland of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Garland was born in Chicago in 1952, and was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1997 by President Bill Clinton. A Harvard law graduate, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice William Brennan 1978-1979 before entering government service as a special assistant U.S. attorney general. Garland left the Justice Department for private practice in Washington, D.C. in 1981, where he stayed until 1993. He took a three-year break during that time to work as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. He was promoted to deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's criminal division in 1993 and became principal associate deputy U.S. attorney general in 1994, where he stayed until his court nomination.

Pro: Well respected by conservative and liberal experts following his management of the investigation of the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building and subsequent prosecution of bomber Timothy McVeigh. Moderate legal positions would not likely lead to filibuster threats from Republican senators.

Con: Moderate legal positions would not excite hard-core liberals with congressional elections coming up this year. Was not a finalist in the White House's last search for a Supreme Court nominee, which produced Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Obama may want to put another woman or minority on the court, instead.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Granholm was born in 1959 in Vancouver, British Columbia. She got her law degree from Harvard University in 1987 and entered the political world by working as a full-time aide for the Michigan campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in 1988. She got into the legal world in 1988 through her job as an executive assistant for criminal justice issues in the Wayne County executive office. Granholm started work as a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office in Detroit in 1990, where she stayed until her appointment as Wayne County, Mich., corporation counsel in 1995. She became Michigan's attorney general in 1999, and was became governor in January 2003.

Pro: Would bring nonjudicial experience to the Supreme Court, which several senators say is needed. Would bring the number of female Supreme Court justices to three, an all-time high. Would bring political and prosecutorial experience.

Con: No judicial experience. Has said nomination would be a great opportunity, but "I just don't think that's going to happen." Was not a finalist in the White House's last search for a nominee. Questions about her stewardship of Michigan, which was hit hard during the recession, could come up.

Elena Kagan, U.S. solicitor general.

Kagan was born in 1960 in New York City. She received a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1986 before working as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Kagan went into private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1989 until leaving to become a professor at University of Chicago law school in 1991. She joined the Clinton administration as an associate counsel to President Bill Clinton in 1995 and climbed the ladder to deputy assistant to Clinton for domestic policy and deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council in 1997. Clinton nominated her to the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1999 but she never received a hearing from the Senate Judiciary Committee. She became a professor at Harvard Law School since 1999, and became dean in 2003. She was confirmed as solicitor general in 2009.

Pro: Well respected by conservative and liberal lawyers after time at Harvard Law School. One conservative activist last year called Kagan "less extreme than most of President Obama's leading candidates for the Supreme Court." Already known as "Tenth Justice" because the solicitor general is the executive branch's chief lawyer before the high court. Was a finalist in the White House's last search for a nominee and was interviewed by the president. Would bring the number of female justices to three.

Con: No judicial experience. Thirty-one Republicans voted against her for solicitor general. Republicans refused to hold a hearing for her nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1999, a seat that went to eventual Chief Justice John Roberts. Got first Supreme Court argument experience in 2009 as solicitor general. Her stand against military recruitment at Harvard Law School because of the armed forces' "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is sure to be a talking point against her.

Harold Hongju Koh, legal advisor to the State Department.

Koh, who has been the legal adviser to the State Department since March 2009, was born in Boston in 1954. He got his law degree from Harvard University before serving as law clerk for Justice Harry Blackmun in 1981-82. He went into private practice in Washington, D.C., for a year after his Supreme Court clerkship before being hired on at the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. He left government to become a law professor at Yale University in 1985, where he stayed until he became assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor in 1998. He returned to Yale in 2001, and became Yale's law school dean in 2001. He left Yale to work for the State Department after Obama was elected.

Pro: Would make history as the first Asian-American Supreme Court nominee. Would excite hard-core liberals looking to swing the courts to the left. Would bring nonjudicial experience to the Supreme Court.

Con: No judicial experience. Liberal stances would guarantee a fierce confirmation fight with Republicans in the Senate, who have enough votes to filibuster a nominee if they want.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Napolitano was born in 1957 in New York City and got her law degree at the University of Virginia in 1983. She then clerked for Mary Schroeder at 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco for a year before going into private practice in Phoenix. Napolitano was named U.S. attorney for Arizona in 1993, and stayed in that position until she returned to private practice in 1997. In 1999, she became Arizona's attorney general, a position she held until she was elected the state's governor in 2003. Obama tapped her to be head of the Homeland Security Department in 2009.

Pro: Was a finalist in the White House's last search for a nominee and was interviewed by the president. Would bring the number of female justices to three. Would bring nonjudicial experience to the Supreme Court. Would bring political and prosecutorial experience to the high court.

Con: No judicial experience. Nomination would bring questions about her comment that "the system worked" after the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253. She likely would also face criticism for a draft department threat assessment in 2009 that implied military veterans could be susceptible to extremist recruiters or commit lone acts of violence.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

Patrick was born in 1956 in Chicago, and got his law degree from Harvard University in 1982. He went to work as a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 1983 to 1986 before entering private practice. He stayed in the private sector except for a stint in 1994-97 at the Justice Department. As the Clinton administration's assistant attorney general for civil rights he led a massive federal investigation of church burnings throughout the South. Patrick left government to become chairman of Texaco Inc.'s Equality and Fairness Task Force, then was named vice president and general counsel for Texaco Inc. in 1999. He then became executive vice president and general counsel for The Coca-Cola Co. from 2001 to 2004 before winning the Massachusetts governorship as a Democrat in 2006.

Pro: Personal friend of Obama and like the president is a Chicagoan, Harvard Law School graduate and African-American. Would increase the number of black justices to two. Would bring political and prosecutorial experience to the high court.

Con: No judicial experience. Would face questions about the political and financial status of Massachusetts, which has a statewide health care plan similar to the nationwide plan just passed by Congress and signed into law by Obama.

Diane Pamela Wood of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

Wood was born in 1950 in Plainfield, N.J., and was nominated to the 7th Circuit by President Bill Clinton in 1995. She got her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law before clerking for Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun from 1976-1977. She went to work as a lawyer-adviser in the State Department's Office of the Legal Adviser from 1977-1978 before entering private practice in Washington, D.C. during 1978-1980. She became a professor at Georgetown University during 1980-1981, then became a professor at the University of Chicago from 1981-1995, where she also served as associate dean from 1989-1992. She re-entered government service at the Justice Department as special assistant to the associate attorney general during 1985-1987, and as the Antitrust Division's deputy assistant attorney general for international, appellate and policy matters from 1993-1995 before becoming a federal judge.

Pro: Was a finalist in the White House's last search for a nominee and was interviewed by the president. Would bring the number of female justices to three.

Con: Would ignite a battle over abortion rights during the confirmation process. Anti-abortion activists portray Wood as being hostile to their cause.

http://newsmax.com/Newsfront/Supreme-Court-Possible-Nominees/2010/04/09/id/355313

[Eyeball Chambers]

[240 is Back]

johnathon turley is a name to watch

[Dos Equis]

Barbour: Obama, Congress 'the most liberal' ever
Posted: April 11th, 2010

From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

(CNN) – As Washington girds itself for another Supreme Court confirmation battle, a prominent Republican is predicting that President Obama will use his second high court pick to try to push the court in as liberal a direction as possible – in a reflection of Democrats’ liberal tendencies.

Associate Justice John Paul Stevens announced Friday that he intends to step down later this year, stirring speculation about who Obama will appoint during a midterm election year when Democrats already appear to be facing a challenging political environment.

“The president’s going to appoint a liberal successor to Justice Stevens whose one of the most liberal members of the Supreme Court,” Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

Barbour added that he thought Obama is going to “appoint the most liberal person that he can and he thinks he can get confirmed. And that, that person will be a liberal. That’s just a fact.”

The former RNC chairman and current chairman of the Republican Governors Association told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley that the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation process will affect November’s midterm elections by reminding the public where Obama and the Democratically-controlled Congress sit on the political spectrum.

“Do I think it'll affect the election?,” he said. “Only to the sense that it reminds the American people of something they already know - that this is far and away the most liberal administration that we've ever had in the White House, and candidly, in the Congress.”

Barbour noted that historically both liberals and conservatives have used Supreme Court vacancies to stir up support and enthusiasm within their respective bases. But he said that Republicans may not need the extra boost that will likely come from a high court confirmation battle during a midterm election year.

“The good thing for Republicans right now is we’ve got plenty of energy,” Barbour told Crowley. “The policies of this administration and this Congress have energized our people.”

Asked whether Senate Republicans should oppose Obama’s nominee at all costs and risk taking on “the party of no” label being pushed by Democrats, Barbour was indifferent.

“I’m not worried about ‘the party of no,’ as long as we’re saying no to what the American people know are bad policies,” Barbour said. “The American people will reward you for trying to stop something they think is bad.”

But Barbour was quick to add that no one knows yet who the president will nominate to replace Justice Stevens.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/11/barbour-obama-congress-the-most-liberal-ever/?fbid=54YJ106g8kS

[Dos Equis]

Unless he nominates a radical (unlikely), we'll probably hear a lot of bark with no bite. 

Senators signal bruising confirmation battle on Supreme Court nominee
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 11, 2010

Washington (CNN) -- Two leading senators on the Judiciary Committee, which will consider President Obama's upcoming Supreme Court nominee, signaled Sunday that a bruising fight is likely.

Committee chairman Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vermont, called the current conservative-leaning Supreme Court the most activist he had seen, while ranking Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama wouldn't rule out a filibuster if Obama nominates what the GOP perceives to be a liberal activist.

Appearing on the NBC program "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Leahy said Obama wants the replacement for retiring Justice John Paul Stevens to represent all Americans rather than any particular ideology.
Stevens, who will turn 90 on April 20 and has served nearly 35 years on the court, announced his resignation on Friday.

"This is a very, very activist court, the most activist court in my lifetime," Leahy said, citing the recent Supreme Court ruling that lifted restrictions on corporate spending on elections.

Leahy called for both parties to set aside politics and "stop listening to single-interest groups on the far right and left" in order to avoid a bitter confirmation process.

Video: Replacing Justice Stevens

Sessions responded that the current Supreme Court was not activist, but instead had "faithfully" tried to follow the Constitution.

Asked about a possible filibuster, Sessions said it would depend on the nominee.

"If it's somebody ... clearly outside the mainstream, then I think every power should be utilized to protect the Constitution," Sessions said.

Leahy said he doubted a GOP filibuster would occur, calling such a move the "lazy" way out of having to vote yes or no on a nominee.

Asked about a timetable, Leahy said he expected the confirmation process to be concluded by the end of summer and the new justice to be installed in time for the Supreme Court's new session next fall.

Other senators interviewed Sunday echoed Leahy's assessment that a filibuster was unlikely. On the ABC program "This Week," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said Obama was likely to select a strong candidate without any clear ideological ties.

"What you want is somebody who will follow the law, not make the law, not impose their ideology, if they're far right, far left, on the law itself," Schumer said. "If they're in the mainstream, you don't have to agree with all of their views to vote for them."

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, told the same program that he agreed with Schumer's assessment, saying: "What I object to and I think my colleagues would object to is somebody that comes in with preconceived notions about how particular cases should be decided."

"That's why I think both Chuck and I would agree that it is unlikely that there would be a filibuster, except if there is an extraordinary circumstance," Kyl said, but added in reference to a filibuster: "I'm never going to take it off the table."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/11/supreme.court.senate/index.html?hpt=T2

[Dos Equis]

Hillary Clinton won't be Supreme Court nominee, White House says
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The White House says President Obama won't be nominating Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Supreme Court.

The idea emerged today when Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show that he'd heard Clinton's name mentioned in connection with the upcoming vacancy on the court. Justice John Paul Stevens is retiring this summer and Obama is reviewing candidates to succeed him.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today that Obama has no intention of changing Clinton's job title.

Said Gibbs: "The president is going to keep her as his secretary of state."

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100412/BREAKING/100412023/Hillary+Clinton+won+t+be+Supreme+Court+nominee++White+House+says

[Skip8282]

Hillary Clinton won't be Supreme Court nominee, White House says
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The White House says President Obama won't be nominating Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Supreme Court.

The idea emerged today when Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show that he'd heard Clinton's name mentioned in connection with the upcoming vacancy on the court. Justice John Paul Stevens is retiring this summer and Obama is reviewing candidates to succeed him.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today that Obama has no intention of changing Clinton's job title.

Said Gibbs: "The president is going to keep her as his secretary of state."

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100412/BREAKING/100412023/Hillary+Clinton+won+t+be+Supreme+Court+nominee++White+House+says

Personally, I think he wants somebody much younger, and maybe a little more liberal.  But younger for sure.

[George Whorewell]

You cant just make anyone who went to law school a Supreme Court justice. Hillary failed the bar 3 times before passing it and has zero experience as a judge. There is no shot she would pass confirmation.

[240 is Back]

I think he nominates thune or Paul Ryan.

Remember how he neutralized the VERY strong 2012 threat in john huntsman by giving him a job?

[Skip8282]

I think he nominates thune or Paul Ryan.

Remember how he neutralized the VERY strong 2012 threat in john huntsman by giving him a job?

This is different.  I don't see him going from Sotomayer to Thune or Ryan.  This will have repercussions for decades to come.  He's going to want somebody much more liberal, IMO.

[Dos Equis]

You cant just make anyone who went to law school a Supreme Court justice. Hillary failed the bar 3 times before passing it and has zero experience as a judge. There is no shot she would pass confirmation.

They don't even have to be lawyers.