Since the U.S. Supreme Court was organized in 1790, 113 justices served on the court. Only three of those justices have been women. And out of 17 chief justices, none of them have been female, according to the court”s Web site. Women hold two out of the current nine justice seats.
While President Barack Obama reviews promising judges and legal scholars to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, who is retiring this summer, he has many qualities to consider before picking a nominee.
Intelligence, capability, legal knowledge and experience obviously top the list. Political leanings would also carry weight, as Stevens is one of the leaders of the liberal portion of the bench. Obama would also want to pick a nominee without many skeletons in his or her closet because confirmations can get nasty, as the public saw with now Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
I believe having a group of justices who represent the United States in its diversity is essential.
Some would argue that having justices from different parts of the country is the diversity the court needs. I agree that justices should come from all parts of the United States. Currently, most of the justices are from the East Coast, except Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of California and Stevens of Illinois. It would be nice to have more representation west of the Mississippi River.
Women and racial minorities deserve to be considered for the office if they can match up to the white male candidates.
As women make up half of the U.S. population, their representation on the court is severely lacking.
Out of the eight members on Obama”s short list that Associated Press has confirmed, six of them are women.
Obama”s candidates for the court include dean of the Harvard Law School Martha Minow, federal appeals court judges Diane Wood, Merrick Garland and Sidney Thomas, former Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the Associated Press reported.
Obama is not considering Hillary Rodham Clinton. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama “is going to keep her as his secretary of state.”
It seems Obama values gender diversity as much as I.
In a matter of political protocol, Obama will meet April 21 at the White House with senators who will help shape the tone and timing of the confirmation review ahead, the Associated Press reported. Obama will meet with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky; Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on Judiciary.
Hopefully Obama will stick with his apparent sway to nominate another female justice.
Sears would be a nice pick, as the first African-American woman to serve as a State Supreme Court chief justice.
The public and senators should push to have diverse representation on the court and let the worthy candidate ? with any luck ? take her seat.
Katy Sweeny is a staff reporter for the Record-Bee. She can be reached at kdsweeny@gmail.com or 263-5636, ext. 37.
