Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies!!
 

Rehnquist has died. I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising considering how old and sick he was, but it's still a bit of a shocker. It's always a big deal when a Supreme Court Justice goes.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/09/03/re...bit/index.html

Any ideas as to who the next appointment will be? I have no clue.

Wow, I guess Pat Robertson's prayers have been answered.

He'll be missed. He was a very intelligent man who wasnt afraid to be the sole opposition.

However it will give the Bush admin the ability to put a new, younger conservative in his place.

Predictions:

Scalia moves to the top slot, Bush nominates someone similar to Roberts, and neither will face a huge fight on the floor of the Senate. There will be the usual hypocrites like those that insisted Ginsberg not have to answer tough questions, yet will try to pin down a Republican nominee. There will be enough reasonable members of the minority party to ensure the nominees are given a better treatment than Clarence Thomas got.

My prediction for the slot: Janice Rogers Brown, recently confirmed for the DC Court of Appeals (I think that was the job, anyway). A black conservative woman--Jesse Jackson's worst nightmare.

I started looking at graduite schools in western europe today just for the hell of it. Now i think this might be a good time to get the hell out of dodge.

I have a very strong been to the liberal libertain point of view. Mr. Roberts is not someone who i like. If he is bushs idea of somone the Dems can get behind i hate to see how that Lame duck with muck of the next 20 years.

Hey, you guys sound like you're up on the SC. How does it stand now? I vaguely remember it being typically splti 5-4, slightly tilted in favor of the conservatives.

With Rehnquist gone, it really doesn;t change the equation does it? I think Seaver has a good point: Bush gets to appoint a younger, conservative (we're assuming) who will sit for a while.

Who decide who gets the top slot? Can Bush just say, "Scalia, you're it", or does Congress have to agree, or is it a vote amongst the justices? If Scalia needs congressional approval, I would expect a nasty fight form the Dems.

I haven't heard of Janice ROgers Brown, but it sounds like a shrewd appointment.
Excellent strategy in my opinion. Yeah, I can see Jesse Jackson being pissed off at that too....

Maybe a conservative Latino appointment? I dunno, someone from either Florida or California or the Southwest maybe?

Or how about a conservative Asian appointment? That would be a pretty shrewd move too, although they would get more mileage out of a black or Latino appointment.

I dunno why, but I find it sad that we're talking about race this way...I'm not sure what about it that bothers me most, that we take such notice of it, or we use it as a political tool.

I know it happens all over the place, and it always bothers me. It just seems to stand out in particular in this thread

sorry to vear a bit off topic

Rehnquist was a smart man, and although I didn't always agree with him I respected him.

Nominate Otter Pope for the next head supreme court justice.
http://www.fawktastic.com/weeee/popeotterstaffbc1.JPG



/peace

As opposed to a liberal trying to get a Democratic President to nominate a Democrat?

It's part of the bonuses to being President, it allows you to influence the country far past your term in office.

I couldnt agree with you more JonJon, personally I dont care what race the person is. What I care about is that their political views are as close to my own as possible.

In 2000, I waited out the presidential election decision as did everyone. Once the decision was made, my thought was "no matter" as long as there isn't a change in the balance in the Supreme Court. Had 911 not occurred, Bush II would not have been reelected in 2004. In his place would have been a moderate Republican, or possibly a moderate Democrat.

The Neocons now have two replacement opportunities to the Supreme Court. It is my sincere hope that the *real* Republicans step forward and that the Democrats are capable of collectively producing a spine that supports them and/or challenges the neocons.

First, yes, the Chief Justice slot does have to be approved by the Senate.

Second, I thought of Brown because she was recently confirmed for the Appeals Court, and therefore had been vetted in the last year.

I agree that race SHOULDN'T be an issue, but it will be, as will gender. Since Roberts is male, there were some that thought he wasn't the one to replace a female going off the bench. I thought it was good that Bush didn't try to replace the white woman with another white woman.

Finally, any nominee need not try to place the irrational left in the Senate. I'd love for Roberts to say to Kennedy when he's testifying something along the lines of "Look, you're not going to be satisfied with anything I say, and you're not going to vote for me, so let's drop the facade that you're carefully considering your vote. I'm not going to answer this line of questioning now or later. Do what you're going to anyway."

With all due respect, of course! :D

I had the opportunity to see the Chief Justice at an appearance he made at the Robert H. Jackson Center. He was a sharp, sharp!, man. I think the judicial world lost a great legal mind.

This article speculates on potential nominees:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/09/04/re....ap/index.html

Thanks for the article Elphaba - I was actually thinking Gonzales too as a Latino candidate but he might be too "hot" in light of recent controversies with his nomination as Attorney General. A Latina candidate would be a coup for the administration, a two for one.

Roberts has now been nominated as Chief Justice. Blows my whole prediction out of the water, but on the other hand, it's not hard to see why it was done this way. Roberts hasn't generated any serious opposition--the ones opposing him are doing so strictly on political grounds, not on his ability as a jurist--and he should sail through as easily for Chief as he would have as Associate Justice.

I take it you're a fan of "Borking," as long as it's used against a Republican.

Either you misread my post or you don't think there is a difference between a Republican and a Neoconservative.