It’s a little early, but who’s the replacement going to be? There are so many to choose from, it’s hard to say. Some have mused on Alberto Gonzalez, but I’m betting Bush keeps him by his side.
What the hell, I’ll offer up a scientific wild-assed guess and posit that Bush nominates Michael McConnell, fusses over him for a while, plays brinkmanship for a while, and then eventually works out a compromise and nominates Mike DeWine, who gets the job. I realize there are too many variables, and I realize I’m hoping against hope here; we’ll probably get a dangerous crackpot appointed who will make the religious right stand up and sing “Onward, Christian Soldier.”
Michael Luttig: A bit of Scalia (Mini-me). Voted that South Carolina’s “Choose Life” license plate violated the first amendment because it didn’t offer a pro-choice option as well.
John Roberts: Denied the civil rights claim of the 12 year old girl who ate a French fry in DC. She was handcuffed and arrested for violating the law. Argued that high school graduations can have religious ceremonies. Helped argue that doctors and clinic on the federal dole may not talk to patients about abortion.
Emilio Garza: Has concern about the death penalty. Agreed to strike down Louisiana law as unconstitutional because it criminalized abortion except for rape, incest et al.
Michael McConnell: Argued for school segregation saying that it was right under the 14th amendment.
Alberto Gonzalez: Looks like a liberal in comparison to all of these freaks. Has supported things that borderline torture for the g-bay prisoners.
Edith Clement: Seems to be for tort reform as she’s drastically lowered damage awards.
Samuel Alito: Was for allowing a manger scene on public property and in a case that was thrown out, he wanted it to go forward. This man is a judicial activist for the Christians.
**
My wet dream choice:**
JH Wilkinson III: Was against the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on the basis it violated the equal protection clause. (Yeah for him!) Voted that South Carolina’s “Choose Life” license plate violated the first amendment because it didn’t offer a pro-choice option as well (with Luttig)
Take heart. When Reagan appointed O’Connor, the world mourned because they thought she would be a hard-line conservative. She has, instead, turned out to be one of the most pragmatic (and therefore hard to predict) justices. Remember Casey? I consider that one of the most shocking decisions to come down from the Court in my lifetime, and she was in the three-Justice plurality that swung the vote toward keeping abortion rights. I don’t think anyone saw that coming.
Smart money was on her retirement, rather than Rehnquist’s, this term. I suspect that Rehnquist will go at least one more term, just so that there will be a year where the Court will be referred to as the Rehnquist Court, rather than the O’Connor Court.
And can I get an amen and a prayer for our good friend John Paul Stevens? 87 and still not retiring, bless his heart. And during his tenure on the Court, we’ve gone from Bowers to Lawrence. Hang in there, Justice Stevens!
A rumor around DC is that Alberto R. Gonzales will be Bush’s nominee. I heard that at the same time I heard about the possibility of O’Connor resigning and that was last week sometime.
In the unanimous ruling last October in Hedgepeth v. WMATA, Roberts upheld the arrest, handcuffing and detention of a 12-year-old girl for eating a single french fry inside a D.C. Metrorail station. “No one is very happy about the events that led to this litigation,” Roberts acknowledged in the decision, but he ruled that nothing the police did violated the girl’s Fourth Amendment or Fifth Amendment rights.
