Is the C.J. Gonna Make His Move Now?

[Ralph]

Path cleared for Rehnquist's retirement
5/28/2005, 3:44 p.m. ET
By GINA HOLLAND
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist may feel freer to step down with the Senate judicial standoff muted and the Supreme Court weeks away from the end of its term.

A compromise forged by centrist senators on Monday averted a showdown over President Bush's judge nominees and the Senate's filibuster rules.

While the deal won't stop Democratic senators from trying to block the next Supreme Court nominee, and was tested with Bush's choice for U.N. ambassador, it temporarily eased tensions over judicial confirmations.

"There's just no better time for Rehnquist to leave than now, from a political standpoint," said John McGinnis, a law professor at Northwestern University who worked in the administration of Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush.

Rehnquist, 80, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last fall, but he has released few details about his illness and no clues about his future plans.

A departure makes sense now, McGinnis said, because Republicans risk losing Senate seats in elections next year. In addition, he said, Bush's victory over Democrat John Kerry last fall eased friction over the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling that tipped the 2000 election to Bush.

Rehnquist, a Republican, sided with Bush in the 2000 case. If he steps down, he can expect the White House to choose a conservative successor.

"Rehnquist probably feels it's about as good of a time to retire as any," said Joel Grossman, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University. Rehnquist and other justices were likely following with interest developments in the Senate debate over judicial confirmations, he said.

On Monday, Justice John Paul Stevens used an Oklahoma elections case to raise concerns about party politics. Stevens, at 85 the oldest justice, noted "bitter partisanship that has already poisoned some of those bodies that once provided inspiring examples of courteous adversary debate and deliberation." It was an apparent reference to the Senate.

Washington attorney Chuck Cooper, a former Rehnquist clerk, said the chief justice "is extremely politically savvy" and probably recognizes that any high court retirement will prompt a bitter partisan clash in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., had wanted to ban the process that allows opponents of legislation or a nomination to prevent final action by erecting a 60-vote hurdle.

The deal reached by moderates averted a raucous vote, but was opposed by Frist. Senators kept the rules and Democrats promised to filibuster future Bush nominees only under extraordinary circumstances.

The deal was immediately tested when Democrats forced a delay Thursday in a confirmation vote for John R. Bolton as U.N. ambassador.

"If anybody was hoping an agreement would grease the skids for a Supreme Court vacancy, I don't think that happened," said Stephen Wermiel, an American University law professor.

And Wermiel said while a Rehnquist departure seems more likely than not — creating the court's first vacancy in a modern era record 11 years — one mystery in the calculation is how sick Rehnquist is. The chief justice has revealed that he received radiation and chemotherapy, treatment that is generally used for the most aggressive type of thyroid cancer.

On Monday, Rehnquist was seen in a wheelchair at the Capitol medical office, but no explanation was given for the visit. In March he was taken by ambulance to a hospital after developing a problem with the tracheotomy tube that helps him breathe.

His only public events are brief open sessions of the court, scheduled once a week through the end of June for justices to announce opinions in the 29 cases that are still pending. Subjects still to be addressed include medical marijuana and displays of the Ten Commandments on public property.

The court's last scheduled meeting day is for its current session is June 27, but justices will likely meet a second time that week to dispose of the final difficult cases.

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On the Net:

Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

[Corlyss_D]

Yup. He'll be gone before summer. Alas, the Senate won't be.

[Ralph]

Yup. He'll be gone before summe. Alas, the Senate won't be.

*****

The Senate helps provide part of the Supreme Court's annual caseload.

[Dennis Spath]

Renquists' retirement will make for an interesting Summer and Fall. I look forward to knowing who the Shrub will nominate to replace him on the Court as well as his choice for Chief Justice. It would be unprecedent for this President to actually come to some kind of accomodation with the Democrats by actually consulting with them. Both Parties appear eager for a fight on ideological grounds as a means of solidifying their base for the 2006 election cycle.

[Ralph]

I'm resigned to not even being mentioned as the next C.J.

[Dennis Spath]

It's good not to get your hopes too high, Ralph, and also reflects your excellent political judgement!

[pizza]

I'm resigned to not even being mentioned as the next C.J.

Since you just mentioned it yourself, I suggest you withdraw your resignation.

[Corlyss_D]

I'll be disappointed if they don't use this opportunity to create the law student seat on the Supreme Court. I have been advocating this for years.

[Ralph]

Well there are absolutely no constitutional textual linmitations on who can be on the Court (age, place of birth, citizenship, law degree, no criminal record, etc.)

Were I to make it to the Supreme Court I would regularly cite to CMG posts in my opinions.

[Ralph]

White House researching potential justices
5/29/2005, 5:47 p.m. ET
By DEB RIECHMANN
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has laid the groundwork to place more conservatives on the Supreme Court, scrutinizing the backgrounds and legal views of a shrinking list of candidates amid speculation that ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist soon will step down.

Keenly aware that a chapter of President Bush's legacy is at stake, conservative and liberal advocacy groups are preparing for what both sides believe will be a bruising confirmation fight.

Court experts expect that Rehnquist, who is battling thyroid cancer, will leave by the end of June when the current court session concludes.

"The vacancy could come anytime after this Memorial Day weekend, we think," said Sean Rushton, director of the conservative Committee for Justice, which has close ties to the White House counsel's office.

"They have been winnowing the list down for some time now. I imagine they're down to maybe three or five — a handful anyway — who are their first choices," he said.

White House officials say it is inappropriate to discuss filling a vacancy that does not exist. They refuse to disclose publicly any details about how Bush might pick the first nominee for the court in more than a decade.

But those tracking the process say the counsel's office has researched the resumes of prospective justices, their court opinions and their views about constitutional law. Justice Department lawyers are carefully looking into the personal backgrounds of possible nominees. Justice Clarence Thomas was confirmed despite allegations of sexual harassment. One of President Reagan's nominees, Douglas Ginsburg, withdrew from consideration after it was revealed that he had smoked marijuana.

John McGinnis, a law professor at Northwestern University and former deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's office of legal counsel, said he thinks Bush already might have made up his mind.

"This White House — I congratulate it on its ability to be secret," McGinnis said. "It's entirely possible that Rehnquist has already communicated his intention to step down and the White House has a plan absolutely set."

Liberals hope Bush will fill his first vacancy with a centrist, a consensus candidate, instead of one who would please right-wing Republicans who were instrumental in the president's re-election. But they acknowledge that may be wishful thinking.

Bush has shown he is willing to stick by his nominees. When Senate Democrats denied votes on 10 of his picks for the federal bench, the president did not back down. Instead, he sent the same group of conservatives back to the Senate. That set the stage for the recent showdown over the filibuster — a political maneuver the Democrats used to stall the votes through protracted debate.

"On every occasion the president has chosen confrontation rather than consultation and consensus so we assume it's going to be confrontation one more time — or four more times, depending on what happens," said Ralph Neas, director of the People for the American Way. The liberal group has worked to block several of President Bush's appointments to the courts

Central to the filibuster fight was the prospect of Bush's selecting a new Supreme Court justice. Neither side was completely satisfied by a compromise that ended the internal Senate battle last week.

The left complained it opened the way for the confirmation of nominees outside the judicial mainstream. Conservatives said it seemed to preserve the Democrats' right to block a Supreme Court nominee.

If Rehnquist steps down, it could be just the beginning of Bush's chance to put his imprint on the court before his term ends in early 2009.

Justice John Paul Stevens turned 85 in April. Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are in their 70s.

Bush has suggested that he favors the views of Justices Thomas and Antonin Scalia. Both men believe the Constitution should be interpreted literally and that judges should not be swayed by changes in political or social culture.

Liberals predict a major fight if Bush nominates someone in the mold of Thomas and Scalia, or anyone viewed as too conservative.

"If he (Bush) puts a nominee up whose record is hostile to individual rights, this administration will be igniting a firestorm of opposition around the country," said Nan Aron, director of the Alliance for Justice, which helped block the confirmation of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court in the late 1980s. "I think it will be a fight that will shape our lives for decades."

[Kevin R]

Renquists' retirement will make for an interesting Summer and Fall. I look forward to knowing who the Shrub will nominate to replace him on the Court as well as his choice for Chief Justice. It would be unprecedent for this President to actually come to some kind of accomodation with the Democrats by actually consulting with them. Both Parties appear eager for a fight on ideological grounds as a means of solidifying their base for the 2006 election cycle.

Dennis,

The president alone has the right to nominate judges, why should he consult with the Dems? You keep forgetting that you guys lost the last election. And certainly you can do better than repeating the Reid/Schumer talking points.