supreme court
Bush Nominates Harriet Miers
for High Court
By Melissa Charbonneau
White House Correspondent
CBN.com –
WASHINGTON - A surprise announcement from President Bush today
- he has picked White House Counsel Harriet Miers to be the next
Supreme Court justice.
If confirmed, Miers will take the seat of retiring Justice Sandra
Day O'Connor, as just-confirmed Chief Justice John Roberts opened
a new term at the Supreme Court.
Bush introduced his second Supreme Court pick from the Oval Office.
In naming his own White House counsel, the President cited precedent
for appointing jurists with no judicial track record.
"Justice Rehnquist himself came to the Supreme Court without
prior experience on the bench,” Bush explained, “as
did more than 35 other men, including Byron White. And I'm proud
to nominate an outstanding woman who brings a similar record of
achievement."
The President calls Miers one of the foremost lawyers in the
country, and someone who will not legislate from the bench.
Miers remarked, "If confirmed, I recognize that I will have
a tremendous responsibility to keep our judicial system strong,
and to help ensure that the courts meet their obligations to strictly
apply the laws and the Constitution."
The unmarried Texas native and graduate of Southern Methodist
University is being called a trailblazer.
She is the first woman to lead a major Texas law firm, the first
female president of the Dallas and Texas State Bar Associations,
and she was chairman of the Texas Lottery Commission.
Miers was also named among the nation's top 50 women lawyers
and 100 most powerful attorneys by the National Law Journal.
She served Bush as Staff Secretary, Deputy Chief of Staff, and
this year was promoted to White House Counsel.
Reminiscent of Vice President Cheney, Miers was selected to lead
the search for the President's judicial nominees before the President
chose her for the job.
Jay Sekulow, one of the "four horsemen" who worked
closely with the White House to name strict constructionalists,
says the President has hit a homerun.
"When the ABA years back took an aggressive stand on abortion,
coming out with an affirmation of the right to abortion, Harriet
Miers was one of lawyers leading the charge against the ABA's
position calling for a national referendum among ABA members,”
Sekulow said. “So this is someone who's not immune to…issues
of social concern. She has been, she's a leader, an active churchgoer.
This is a very positive selection, no doubt about it."
But critics complain that they know less about Miers than about
Roberts. And they are accusing the President of political cronyism,
selecting a political ally for the highest court in the land.
That has all sides bracing for a confirmation battle that promises
to be more contentious than the last.
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