Article III Groupie is getting killed at work right now, so in the near future expect very short posts. A3G thinks of it as "guerrilla blogging" -- she emerges from the jungle, fires off a little something, and then, poof! She's gone.
This style of blogging is employed by many of the biggest and most successful bloggers. See, e.g., Instapundit. A3G is usually too talkative to make this approach work for her. But since she hardly has any free time right now, it will have to work for her. And as the old saying goes, "Brevity is the soul of wit!"
So here goes. Check out this interesting article from the New York Times, by David D. Kirkpatrick and Sheryl Stolberg, discussing President Bush's short-list for the second Supreme Court seat. According to Kirkpatrick and Stolberg, "the White House [is] looking mainly at female jurists for Justice O'Connor's seat." The article mentions all of the usual suspects among prominent female judges: the #1 Judicial Diva, Judge Janice Rogers Brown (D.C. Cir.); the Lone Star Diva, Judge Priscilla Owen (5th Cir.); the "two Ediths" of the Fifth Circuit, Judge Edith Jones and Judge Edith Brown Clement; that Fourth Circuit judicial hottie, Judge Karen J. Williams; and the solidly conservative Judge Alice M. Batchelder, of the Sixth Circuit.
But the article also adds a new name to the list of possible Supreme Court nominees: Judge Consuelo M. Callahan, of the Ninth Circuit. The article notes that "Judge Callahan, a Republican appointee, is Hispanic, and President Bush has made clear that he would like to name a Hispanic to the court."
A3G feels very vindicated! Back in November 2004, well before Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist passed away and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement, A3G identified the tap-dancing Judge Callahan -- whom A3G dubbed "The Dancing Queen of the Ninth Circuit" -- as a possible successor to Justice O'Connor. Here are some excerpts from A3G's discussion of Judge Callahan (which appears in full here):
Judge Consuelo Callahan, at 54 years old, is young. She's a fairly conservative Republican, with prosecutorial experience suggesting she'd be solid on criminal issues. She has oodles of judicial experience, in both trial and appellate courts, and in both the federal and (admittedly icky) state systems. Her [Ninth Circuit] confirmation hearings were a love-in. Y su mamá también es Latina... Could Judge Callahan hoof it all the way to One First Street?
If Judge Callahan made it to the Supreme Court, she would add a dose of much-needed style to the Conference. As noted in [Pamela] MacLean's excellent [Daily Journal] article, "The 54-year-old Callahan exudes energy. She is a splashy dresser who often glitters with gold jewelry." In other words, with respect to the Court, "if President Bush wants to bling it, Judge Callahan can bring it"!
Judge Callahan, described here by the Alliance for Justice as a "moderate conservative," would be a perfect demographic fit to replace [Justice O'Connor]. (And, ridiculous though it might be given the Court's miniscule size, isn't it all about demographics?) Just like Justice O'Connor, Judge Callahan is a moderately conservative woman, from a western state, who would bring to the Court a less federal-o-centric perspective than the average nominee, thanks to her service as a state court judge...
How cool! A3G would love to see the stylish Consuelo Callahan nominated to the Court. (Of course, A3G has a soft spot for judicial hottie Callahan, who was kind enough to correspond with A3G over email.)
John Hinderaker of Power Line asks: Could the mention of Judge Callahan be a ruse -- "an elaborate misdirection," to pave the way for the nomination of Judge J. Michael Luttig or Judge Michael W. McConnell? Quite possibly.* Indeed, if the White House is looking for a brilliant nominee who can withstand tough questioning from Senate Democrats, Judge Luttig and Judge McConnell -- both members of the Elect, both endowed with Robertsian legal genius -- would be superb choices. But even if Judge Callahan doesn't end up as the President's nominee, A3G is still flattered that the White House would use a prediction from her blog as the basis for such a red herring.
While A3G is banging her own gavel, patting herself on the back for her predictive prowess, please note the prophetic discussion of possible Rehnquist replacements contained in her post about Judge Callahan (from November 2004, almost a year ago):
[I]f Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist departs the Court, the two most likely candidates to replace him would be Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. (D.C. Cir.) (#5 Male Superhottie) and Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. (3d Cir.).
Judge Roberts, of course, will soon be stepping into the robes of the late Chief, barring any unforeseen developments. So stick with A3G, kids, and you'll be okay!
(Hmm... Looking back over this post, it didn't turn out to be very short, did it? A3G really can't stop herself from running off at the mouth, can she?)
* After all, as noted by Professor Hadley Arkes, Judge Joy Clement was used as just such a "decoy," when her name was floated so that the opposition would be caught flat-footed when President Bush announced Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., as his nominee. Professor Arkes, a friend of Judge Clement, believes that she might have been upset at being so used:
But then there was Joy. She too had heard the rumors in the morning, coming out of Washington. Yet, as she waited through the morning and afternoon, no call had come. The sense began to sink in that she had been the decoy. [O]ne could only imagine her own condition and state of mind. The White House had acted deftly -- the feeding frenzy had shown that to me vividly. But there was a cost for the brilliance, and that was the wounding of Joy, as she was made to do a kind of sacrifice to offer cover and protection for John Roberts....
But then there was the lingering prospect of consolation: There was likely to be yet another appointment fairly soon, and after that, who knows -- perhaps even a third appointment, all within the time of George W. Bush. A new opportunity for deft staging -- this time for Mike Luttig and Joy Clement -- may yet come.
Professor Arkes is correct: Judge Clement should now be considered in the running for Justice O'Connor's seat (even if A3G does not see her as the favorite). Let's not forget that, as A3G previously noted (see item #7), Judge Clement is "a Fifth Circuit judge from the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans."
As a New Orleans resident and a victim of Hurricane Katrina, Judge Clement would have definite sentimental appeal as a SCOTUS nominee. And her status as a Katrina victim might protect Judge Clement from overly aggressive questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Her confirmation hearing mantra: "I'm sorry, Senator, but I cannot offer an opinion on that issue, which might conceivably come before the Court someday. And do you have any idea of what it is like to lose everything that you hold dear, in a natural disaster of catastrophic proportions?"
What about Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan?
Posted by: | September 20, 2005 at 05:18 PM