Bush’s nominee to Supreme Court awaited
- Jul 15, 2005
Americans continue to await President Bush’s nominee to the Supreme Court to replace Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who retired July 1 after 24 years of service.
Though the retirement of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 80, has been rumored, it is still unknown if he or another member of the high court will retire this summer, giving Bush additional opportunities to shape its makeup.
O’Connor, 75, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, was often a swing vote who frequently departed from the court’s conservatives on issues such as abortion and public religious expression. O’Connor served as a deciding vote in 5-4 decisions that upheld some Pennsylvania restrictions on abortion but reaffirmed the 1973 Roe v. Wade opinion legalizing abortion; struck down a Nebraska law banning partial-birth abortion, and barred Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky county courthouses.
“For President Bush, social conservatives and the senators they helped elect, the moment of truth has arrived,” said Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
O’Connor’s retirement “opens the door for the opportunity that tens of millions of Americans have been praying for,” Land said. “That opportunity, of course, is to redress the imbalance in the Supreme Court and to make it a solidly original-intent court that will interpret the Constitution, not view it as an ‘evolving’ document to be rewritten according to the personal views of the justices with allusions to international law.
“George W. Bush’s long-term legacy as President will in all probability hinge on whether he now keeps his promise to nominate only judges and justices who fit the Scalia-Thomas, original-intent-jurist mold,” Land said.
Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas are considered the most conservative justices on the high court.
Possible Bush nominees suggested by various sources are:
—Samuel Alito of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals;
—Edith Brown Clement of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals;
—Emilio Garza, also of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals;
—Alberto Gonzales, U.S. attorney general;
—Edith Hollan Jones, also of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals;
—Michael Luttig of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals;
—Michael McConnell of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals;
—John Roberts of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown also have been mentioned as potential nominees. The Senate recently confirmed Owen and Brown to the Fifth and D.C. circuits, respectively, after they were filibustered at length by Democrats.
Pro-life advocates would not embrace Gonzales like they apparently would other selections. As a member of the Texas Supreme Court, Gonzales voted with the majority in a decision providing what pro-lifers considered a liberal interpretation of a law requiring parental notification for a minor’s abortion.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Life, Abortion, Citizenship, National