Specter asks Bush to delay 2nd SCOTUS nomination

[TaleWgnDg]

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U.S. Senator Specter (R, PA), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Cmte, asks Bush to Delay SCOTUS Nomination

Jamie Cortazzo, Jurist News, Wednesday, September 21, 2005, at 11:50 AM ET


(JURIST News) U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (official website), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (official website), asked President Bush Wednesday to delay nominating a replacement for retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Oyez profile). Specter's announcement came after leading senators met with President Bush to suggest possible nominations (AP report). Specter said he spoke with O'Connor, who is willing to remain on the court through the upcoming term ending in June. Specter believes the delay would give the county time to adjust to http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/currentawareness/roberts.php">John Roberts (JURIST news archive) as (SCOTUS) Chief Justice.

The (U.S. Senate) Judiciary Committee will vote on Roberts' nomination on Thursday, with a full Senate vote following next week. Many names have been mentioned as O'Connor's replacement, and there is pressure on Bush to nominate a woman or a minority. Bloomberg has more.

. . . more at http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/09/specter-asks-bush-to-delay-second.php
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[Vincardog]

1. John Roberts has not been approved. We can still stop it.

[hedda_foil]

2. Thank you, Senator Spector!

If he can talk * into it (doubtful at best) we'll get to keep O'Connor for the next term, which would be great. And it will give the Dems and moderate Reps a chance to see how Roberts actually rules ... which could influence how strong a stand they take on the next nomination. This would be a great gift, and Spector (magic bullet and all) deserves megakudos for presenting it (and getting O'Connor to buy in).

[xynthee]

3. Specter Urges Delay in Replacement of O'Connor at Supreme Court

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aRLlfRJo_9MA&refer=us

From the article:

"She's prepared to do that."

More:

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he urged President George W. Bush today to delay nominating a replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, said he talked to Justice O'Connor about staying on the high court. ``She's prepared to do that'' through the court's term ending in June, Specter said. The president ``was noncommittal,'' Specter said. ``The body language was not very positive,'' Specter said.

Specter said the delay would give Congress and the rest of America more time to know John Roberts as chief justice. ``When we know a little more about Judge Roberts it's going to be easier with the next'' nomination, Specter said.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee said he urged Bush to submit a name to the Senate promptly. ``I feel we should proceed with the nomination as anticipated,'' Frist said. If so, the confirmation process could be completed ``around Thanksgiving.''

[willing dwarf]

4. Phew, for a sec I thought you meant Tom Delay!

[shavedape]

7. hahahahah

good one!

[kath]

5. Heck, even if O'Connor doesn't stay for the full term, the Court can

function perfectly well without the full complement of judges.

From "The Court Packs Itself" a Feb. 2001 article from The American Prospect:

The Supreme Court has often functioned perfectly well without its full complement. During the 1990s, the justices have cut their workload dramatically and now deliver only 80 opinions of the Court each year. They can readily maintain this pace even if two or three vacancies open up. President Bush can fill these positions if he wins the 2004 election fair and square.


There is a precedent for my proposal. When President Lincoln was assassinated, he was replaced by Andrew Johnson, who threatened to nominate justices who would consolidate the conservative wing of the Court. The Reconstruction Congress responded with a statute providing that retiring justices could not be replaced. By the time Johnson left the White House in 1869, the Court was reduced to seven members. After the election, Congress returned the Court's size to nine, giving Ulysses S. Grant the power to fill the vacancies that it had denied his predecessor. The Reconstruction Congress explained that it was John Wilkes Booth, not the American people, who had transformed Andrew Johnson into the president. The citizenry would not have deprived Abraham Lincoln of the power to make appointments.

http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/3/ackerman-b.html

[goclark]

6. Could it be that the Repubs are waiting

or want to weait, hoping that they can get the Neo Cons out first.

Then they can get a true Republican in there.

[Dr Fate]

8. Is Magic Bullet Arlen a fixer of some kind or what?

A guy named like a James Bond Villian- and just as interesting.

Could he be doing us a favor with this- letting Americans see how Roberts votes before another Bush pick gets hearings?