« CapitolLink: Rep. Ted Poe From Guantanamo | Main | Blog Rumblings In Congress »

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her resignation only two days ago, but both professional and amateur court watchers in the blogosphere already are making their predictions about who will replace her.

Lawyer Tom Goldstein, a founding partner of Goldstein & Howe and a contributor to The Supreme Court Nomination Blog, is garnering the most attention from other bloggers for his treatise on Judge Priscilla Owen. He is laying odds on Owen for these reasons: 1) She is a woman; 2) she is a "solid conservative"; 3) she is only 50; 4) President Bush has personal confidence in and admiration for her; 5) the Senate recently confirmed her to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; and 6) she does not have a detailed, written record on divisive issues like abortion.

Law professor Stephen Bainbridge, meanwhile, said he is "reasonably certain" of two things: that Bush is not "dumb enough" to divide his base by nominating Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whom social conservatives dislike; and that "the nominee will be somebody both business and social conservatives can live with." He puts Judges Edith Jones and Michael McConnell in that category.

And the Curmudgeon Speaks offers two predictions, each based on perceived character traits in Bush. If Bush is driven by his penchant for loyalty, the curmudgeon said, he will pick Gonzales. If he is driven instead by his "unwavering belief in his own actions," he will nominate an "extreme conservative" -- specifically, either newly confirmed Circuit Court Judge Janice Rogers Brown or Circuit Court Judge Michael Luttig.

Make your predictions in the comments section.

Posted by dglover at July 3, 2005 10:49 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://production.nationaljournal.com/intranet/MT/mt-tb.cgi/10

Comments

Post a comment