This is due partly to her personal qualities. When she was leading her underdog Wasilla high school basketball team to the state championship in 1982, her teammates called her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her fierce competitiveness.

Two years later, when she won the "Miss Wasilla" beauty pageant, she was also voted "Miss Congeniality" by the other contestants.

But it's mostly because she's been a crackerjack governor, a strong fiscal conservative and a ferocious fighter of corruption, especially in her own party."

# posted by Kim Loontjer @ 2:16 PM 0 comments links to this post

"We admire Mr. Wells's [ABA President] high-mindedness. But surely he must have heard that merit selection merely takes the partisan politics out of the public eye and into backrooms stocked with political insiders. In states that have adopted the ostensibly nonpartisan system, it has given disproportionate influence to the state trial bars that control selection commissions and have steadily marched state courts to the left...

All of which explains why states that use some version of merit selection are trying either to reform the system or ditch it altogether. This spring, Tennessee allowed its merit selection plan to expire after abuses that drew the ire of even Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen. In 2006, he said the nominating commission was 'trying to force people down my throat.'"

# posted by Kim Loontjer @ 11:10 AM 0 comments links to this post

The first such report, issued last month, brought to light facts that the committee should heed as it carries out its responsibilities in the judicial confirmations process.

Peter Keisler, who recently served as acting attorney general, was repeatedly cited in the IG's June report as having spoken and acted in opposition to those who allowed political considerations to play a role in hiring decisions in the summer law intern program and the honors program at the department. He was one of two high-level officials at the department who were praised for insisting that the decisions be based on the candidates' qualifications.

Ironically, Mr. Keisler, who was nominated to the federal bench more than two years ago, has been unable to get a Senate vote on his confirmation because the Judiciary Committee has elevated political considerations over the nominee´s qualifications. . . .

The Senate can continue to spin its wheels in a rut of posturing and political rhetoric, or it can begin to make some progress, albeit incremental, by providing fair treatment to an individual who would continue to serve with honor and integrity. In a politically charged atmosphere, Mr. Keisler did the right thing. I hope the Senate Judiciary Committee will do the same.

# posted by Michael Thielen @ 6:54 AM 0 comments links to this post

Now, my friend, the Majority Leader comes to the floor this morning and essentially says judges aren't important, and no one cares about them. Given the crisis in the Fourth Circuit—a crisis that is so bad the ABA is highlighting it—I can't imagine he would say such a thing. I'm sure the millions of citizens of the Fourth Circuit don't think that having their federal appellate court over 25 percent vacant doesn't matter. I'm sure they care very much. But evidently that's what the Majority Leader believes, and apparently he's not the only one in his Conference who feels this way, given the lack of action in the Judiciary Committee.

The Committee refuses to move Judge Robert Conrad's nomination, or any other pending Fourth Circuit nominee. We are told Democrats do not support Rod Rosenstein's nomination to the Fourth Circuit—which is supported by the Washington Post—because he is doing too good a job as U.S. Attorney.

We have another Fourth Circuit nominee, Judge Glen Conrad from Virginia. He is a federal district court judge whom the Senate confirmed to the trial bench without any controversy. He has the support of both his home-state senators. After he was nominated, the Chairman said he would move him, as long as there was time to do so. Specifically, he stated: " have already said that once the paperwork on President Bush’s nomination of Judge Glen Conrad to the Fourth Circuit is completed, if there is sufficient time, I hope to move his nomination."

Well, the Chairman's conditions are met with respect to Judge Glen Conrad's nomination, too. His paperwork has been ready for a month, and it is only July 17; clearly we have time to confirm him. But yet we still have no action on his nomination.

# posted by Michael Thielen @ 8:12 AM 0 comments links to this post

Sen. Reid should talk to pollsters like Rasmussen, who found that GOP voters rank the appointment of Supreme Court justices as a more important presidential election issue than the war in Iraq, as well as the American Bar Association, which found that Americans, by an almost 2-to-1 margin, believe judicial activism "seems to have reached a crisis" (4 ABA Journal eReport 40, 9/30/05). . . .

Reid should also chat with his predecessor, former Majority Leader Tom Daschle, whose narrow 2004 loss is widely blamed on his obstruction of President Bush’s judicial nominees, an issue emphasized by his opponent. . . .

If Reid is still not convinced that voters care about judges, he should visit political analyst and professor Larry Sabato at the University of Virginia. Sabato found that the judges issue "was one of Bush's best issues in the campaigns of 2000 and 2004" (Congress Daily PM, 7/18/06). . . .

Sen. Reid’s remarkable claim that his constituents don't care about the "judges problem" came as part of his excuse for denying Republicans the floor time they wanted to discuss the pending vote on two New York district court nominees. Instead, Reid rushed their confirmation through before a debate could take place. Which leaves us wondering what Reid is so afraid of hearing. Perhaps it's the latest figures from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which show that Democratic obstruction has caused unprecedented delays in the judicial confirmation process. Relative to President Clinton, Bush’s circuit court nominee have waited 46% longer if confirmed, and more than twice as long if not confirmed.

# posted by Michael Thielen @ 7:42 AM 0 comments links to this post

In fact, not much imagination is necessary, because Taylor lays out the possible agenda of an Obama Supreme Court. For easy reference, we have transformed Taylor’s “conservative nightmare” scenario into a Top Ten List (while retaining his wording).

Top Ten Things to Expect from an Obama Supreme Court:
#10 – expanding and perpetuating the use of racial preferences
#9 – creating new constitutional rights to physician-assisted suicide and human cloning
#8 – expanding judicial oversight of military detentions and CIA interrogations
#7 – prohibiting tuition vouchers for religious schools
#6 – banning the death penalty
#5 – requiring taxpayers to fund essentially unlimited abortion rights
#4 – creating new constitutional rights to massive government welfare and medical care programs
#3 – stripping "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance
#2 – eroding property rights
#1 – ordering all 50 states to bless gay marriage

Of course, this “conservative nightmare” is a “liberal dream” for Obama's most enthusiastic supporters. It’s no wonder that the issue of judicial appointments looms large in this year’s race for the White House.

# posted by Michael Thielen @ 7:32 AM 0 comments links to this post

Stuart Taylor remains one of the best writers and observers of the legal scene because he puts his personal opinions and agenda aside. His most recent observations are on the effects of an Obama or McCain Presidency on the Judicial System. A few excerpts are below but the entire article is worth reading.

Among the starkest contrasts between John McCain and Barack Obama is the dramatic difference in their promised approaches to judicial appointments, especially to the closely divided Supreme Court. . . .

The next president will have at least a dozen Appellate vacancies waiting for him when he takes office, and Congress may create more judgeships next year. . . .

On broad judicial philosophy, as he campaigned in Ohio in March, Obama cited Warren as a model for the kind of justice he would pick. "I want people on the bench who have enough empathy, enough feeling for what ordinary people are going through," he explained. Last year, Obama stressed that courts have a special duty to protect "the outsider, the minority, those who are vulnerable, those who don't have a lot of clout" in the political process. During the Senate confirmation debates on Roberts and Alito, Obama criticized Roberts for siding with "the strong in opposition to the weak," and admonished Alito for helping "the powerful against the powerless" and working "on behalf of a strong government or corporation against upholding Americans' individual rights." The "truly difficult" cases, Obama added, "can only be determined on the basis of one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy."

McCain ridiculed these last words in a major speech of his own about judicial appointments on May 6 at Wake Forest University: "These vague words attempt to justify judicial activism. Come to think of it, they sound like an activist judge wrote them." Calling judicial appointments "one of the defining issues of this presidential election," McCain echoed decades of conservative complaints about "an elite group of activist judges" who "make law instead of apply it" and violate "the clear intentions of the Framers" by issuing "rulings and opinions ... on policy questions that should be decided democratically [and] show little regard for the authority of the president, the Congress, and the states, [or] the will of the people."

# posted by Michael Thielen @ 7:27 AM 0 comments links to this post

"Regardless of who is elected president, there will be strong sentiments in favor of appointing a woman or someone who would reflect other elements of diversity such as an Hispanic or African-American,"' said Theodore Olson, a former U.S. solicitor general who heads McCain's advisory committee on judicial appointments.

Six justices are 68 or older, so the next president might get multiple appointments. Republicans have the most to gain because the likeliest initial retirees -- John Paul Stevens, 88, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75, and David Souter, 68 -- are members of the progressive bloc in the divided court.

McCain has promised to nominate justices in the mold of President George W. Bush's appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, potentially shifting the outcome in cases on abortion, race and religion. Last month, a single vote would have changed 5-4 decisions barring capital punishment for child rape and expanding the rights of Guantanamo Bay inmates.

. . .

That dynamic might push McCain toward a compromise, such as Maureen Mahoney, 53, a Washington appellate lawyer at Latham & Watkins. Her appointment would make some conservatives uneasy, because she lacks a track record as a judge and argued in favor of racial preferences in college admissions in a 2003 Supreme Court case.

. . .

Other women likely to appear on McCain's short list include federal appeals court judges Diane Sykes, 50, Consuelo Maria Callahan, 58, and Reena Raggi, 57. Callahan is Hispanic.

McCain, a 71-year-old Arizona Republican, might also consider a sitting senator, possibly 56-year-old John Cornyn of Texas, or Judge Michael McConnell, 53, whose nomination by Bush to the Denver-based 10th Circuit received some Democratic support.

# posted by Michael Thielen @ 1:08 AM 0 comments links to this post

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I hope they do, certainly, because the President has the obligation to nominate and the Senate has an obligation to give the nominations their up or down vote. All I ask is that the Senate hear the -- hold hearings on these nominee and then vote yes or no. I don't think that's too much to request. And delays could lead some to the conclusion that perhaps they're just waiting and running out the clock. I certainly hope that's not the case, because that will mean the senators are not doing their duty.

And this has been a struggle, no question about it, and yet -- this is not only a struggle in this case, it's been a struggle throughout -- just to get an up or down vote, that's all we ask. It's a simple thing, and the nominees deserve it. Many have had their lives put on hold waiting for the Senate to act, and hopefully the Senate will act.

We'll see. My message is: Do your job.

# posted by Michael Thielen @ 12:27 AM 0 comments links to this post

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Christine M. Arguello, of Colorado, to be United States District Judge for the District of Colorado, vice Walker D. Miller, retired.

Philip A. Brimmer, of Colorado, to be United States District
Judge for the District of Colorado, vice Lewis T. Babcock, retired.

Gregory E. Goldberg, of Colorado, to be United States District Judge for the District of Colorado, vice Phillip S. Figa, deceased.

# posted by Michael Thielen @ 12:25 AM 0 comments links to this post

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Raymond Kethledge and Helene White to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Stephen Murphy to the U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. I appreciate the Senate’s work on filling these important seats, which had been declared judicial emergencies.

For the first time in my Administration, the Sixth Circuit will now have a full court to address important issues facing the residents of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Unfortunately, too many other Federal judgeships across America remain vacant. This is unacceptable and inexcusable. Since the beginning of the 110th Congress, the Senate has confirmed only 10 circuit court nominees. In the last two years of the past three Administrations, the Senate has confirmed an average of
17 circuit court judges. I strongly urge the Senate to hold hearings and votes on the 28 pending circuit and district court nominations to ensure that our Nation has a fully functioning judicial system.

# posted by mzkirkpatrick @ 3:42 PM 0 comments links to this post

"Sen. Reid is working to have the Senate confirm a number of judges as
early as Tuesday afternoon, consistent with our efforts to treat President
Bush’s judicial nominees with more respect than President Clinton’s
nominees received from a Republican Senate," said Reid spokesman Jim
Manley.

# posted by mzkirkpatrick @ 9:20 AM 0 comments links to this post