Late last week, I had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN regarding what a second term for President Obama means for the Supreme Court. In the brief interview, I offer my thoughts on how the makeup of the court may change and what issues they may address. … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, we discussed “advice and consent.” Can Senators legitimately ask a Supreme Court nominee about a hot button issue and expect a direct answer? Do Senators have the right to vote up or down on a particular nominee for purely political reasons? Now we turn from the question of what the confirmation process should … Continue Reading
Supreme Court confirmation hearings have come in for a lot of criticism in recent years. They’ve been called a “Kabuki Dance” and a process which has “take[n] on an air of vacuity and farce.” Amid all the discussion of whether or not nominees have become more evasive recently – a subject we’ll address later in the … Continue Reading
Last night, former Solicitor General Seth Waxman addressed the American Law Institute. He strongly endorsed the nomination of current Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, stating that "It is and should be a foregone conclusion that she will be confirmed." Waxman told the members of having worked with Kagan in the weeks leading up to … Continue Reading
This morning, President Obama announced that Solicitor General Elena Kagan is his nominee to succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. The President had this to say about his nominee: Elena is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost legal minds. She’s an acclaimed legal scholar with a rich understanding of constitutional law. She is … Continue Reading
CBS News is reporting that President Obama will announce his nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens on Monday morning. In the weeks since Justice Stevens announced his retirement, the Appellate Strategist has profiled each of the short list candidates: Solicitor General Elena Kagan Judge Diane Wood of the U.S. Circuit Court of … Continue Reading
Our series of profiles of potential nominees to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens continues with Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Judge Garland’s credentials are impeccable. An honors graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School, he clerked for Judge Henry Friendly of … Continue Reading
In the days following Justice John Paul Stevens’ announcement in April that he would step down from the Supreme Court, the speculative “short list” of candidates to replace him steadily lengthened. But one name that was mentioned almost immediately was Judge Diane Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. At age 59, … Continue Reading
Our series of profiles of possible Supreme Court nominees to replace the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens continues with the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. After finishing at the top of her class at Santa Clara University — earning a Truman Scholarship and graduating summa cum laude with Phi Beta Kappa honors — Napolitano … Continue Reading
We continue our profiles of short-listed potential nominees to replace Justice John Paul Stevens with a non-judicial candidate, Jennifer M. Granholm, the current governor of Michigan. As Jennifer M. Granholm is nearing the end of her second and last term as governor of Michigan, she is once again on a short list of possible candidates … Continue Reading
We continue our profiles of short-listed potential nominees with Leah Ward Sears, former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Justice Sears was born in 1955 in Heidelberg, Germany, where her father served as a colonel in the Army. Her family later settled in Savannah, Georgia, and she attended high school there. She received her … Continue Reading
Appellate Strategist’s continuing series of profiles of “short list” candidates to replace the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens continues with Judge Sidney Thomas of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Thomas is notable for his relatively conventional professional path, and his geographic and educational roots. Where many of the current Justices arrived at the … Continue Reading
Since the days of Robert Bork, it has happened, sooner or later, to every Supreme Court nominee: the uncomfortable moment when a Senator quotes one of the nominee’s writings back to him or her, smiles across the Committee table, and says: “Explain that.” If Solicitor General Elena Kagan is nominated to replace Justice John Paul Stevens … Continue Reading
As part of Appellate Strategist’s ongoing evaluation of the “short list” of potential nominees to replace retiring Justice Stevens, we turn now to one of the nominees who was also on the short list to replace Justice Souter – Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Wardlaw is a California … Continue Reading
Appellate Strategist has posted several times in the last week about names being discussed as possible nominees to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. But a list of names, however important, says little about the nominees. We therefore begin our series of short profiles of those whose names top the list. We begin with Carlos Moreno, an Associate Justice … Continue Reading
Justice John Paul Stevens has been tagged by many as a “liberal.” Appellate Strategist does not propose to debate that general proposition here. Rather, it’s time to begin assessing what effect his absence might have on the growing body of Supreme Court jurisprudence that has been cutting back, a little at a time, on the blockbuster punitive … Continue Reading
As Appellate Strategist reported a week ago, when Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement, most Supreme Court observers believed that the "short list" contained three names: Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Judge Diane Wood and Judge Merrick Garland. But even as the White House is suggesting that a nominee will be named in early May, it … Continue Reading
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, two new candidates have emerged as possible Supreme Court nominees to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Justice Carlos Moreno of the California Supreme Court began his career as a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles. Justice Moreno received his first two judicial nominations from Republican Governors George Deukmejian and Pete … Continue Reading
President Obama made a statement this afternoon, suggesting that he would nominate a replacement for retiring Justice John Paul Stevens within "weeks." In describing his ideal nominee, the President suggested that he would be looking for someone who agreed with Stevens’ spirited dissent in Citizens United v. FEC: I will seek someone in the coming weeks … Continue Reading
The New York Times and CNN are reporting that Justice John Paul Stevens will retire when the Court reaches the end of its term in June. The Appellate Strategist will post further information on the story as President Obama’s search for a successor shifts into high gear. UPDATE: The Supreme Court has posted a copy of Justice … Continue Reading
Within the past several weeks, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has dropped several hints that he might be about to announce his retirement. Even though nothing’s definite yet, the news media and the legal blogs are busy speculating about possible replacements. Here’s the roundup – both the “short list” and some of the long shots: … Continue Reading
