Who Might Be Nominated?
Looking ahead to the Supreme Court's future
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During his second term, George W. Bush may have the opportunity to nominate as many as three new justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, remaking the court for a generation. The first nomination—which could come within a matter of weeks—would fill the opening that will be left by the ailing Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who announced in October that he was being treated for thyroid cancer. Rehnquist has led the court since 1986, when Ronald Reagan named him Chief Justice.
It is not entirely clear that Bush faces a confirmation fight over a replacement for Rehnquist if it amounts, as a Senate Democratic aide put it, to "trading an 80-year-old right-wing conservative for a younger right-wing conservative. You are not actually changing the balance of power." But if a moderate or liberal Justice, such as John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Sandra Day O'Connor, retires, then the balance on the bench will be at stake—particularly when it comes to the fate of the court's 1973 abortion ruling in Roe v. Wade, which conservatives have said they would like to overturn. If Bush tries to replace any of those Justices with younger, fire-breathing conservatives, said a Republican official who has been watching the court for 25 years, "then it's a fight."
Democrats have become experts at blocking nominees they oppose, but they can't stop them all. Some of the likely candidates who might be nominated include:
Alberto Gonzales Gonzales, Bush's longtime White House counsel and a former Texas supreme court judge, has been nominated to replace John Ashcroft as Attorney General. Gonzales, 49, who for a decade has been at Bush's side in a variety of top jobs, would be the first Hispanic American to take the helm at Justice. He was chosen to change the tone, if not necessarily the shape, of legal policy in the second half of the Bush presidency. But many observers believe that he is being sent through the Senate confirmation process now in part as preparation for a spot on the Supreme Court later.
J. Harvie Wilkinson III He sits on the highly conservative Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. Courtly and personable, Wilkinson, 60, is probably confirmable. But naming a white male to the bench wouldn't give Bush a historic first.
J. Michael Luttig Appointed by the first President Bush in 1991, Luttig serves with Wilkinson on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, but is more independent and hard-line. One advantage: at 50 he is a decade younger than his colleague.
John Roberts Put on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals by Bush, Roberts, 49, was once a Rehnquist clerk and later, in private practice, argued many cases before the Supreme Court. A highly regarded judge, he could have bipartisan support.
Theodore B. Olson Serving as Bush's Solicitor General until recently, Olson, 64, is smart, conservative and well regarded. He represented the President's side in Bush v. Gore in 2000. His wife Barbara was killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Janice Rogers Brown Her nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was blocked by Democrats, so Brown, 55, could face confirmation problems again. The first African-American woman to serve on California's supreme court, she is against abortion rights. —from TIME, November 22, 2004
Questions
1. Which Supreme Court Justice is expected to retire soon?
2. Who are some likely candidates that Bush might nominate to serve on the Supreme Court?