Harriet Miers is no Emma Woodhouse. In the week since the announcement of her nomination to the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers has been widely -- and unfavorably -- compared to Chief Justice John G. Roberts. She's not as impressively credentialed as he is; nor is she as good-looking. And now we know that she also can't measure up to Chief Justice Roberts financially either.
Chief Justice Roberts is most definitely a multimillionaire, with a net worth in excess of $5 million (see item #10). Harriet Miers, on the other hand, is probably not. As reported here by Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press, the reportable assets of Harriet Miers have decreased from a range of $552,000 and $1.13 million, in 2000, to a range of $218,000 to $595,000, in 2004 (the year covered by her most recent financial disclosure statement). Thus, Chief Justice Roberts's house -- which is worth approximately $1.3 million -- is by itself worth more than all of Harriet Miers's reportable assets.
Hmm, this doesn't sound so good... But before you start whipping out your checkbook to lend Harriet Miers a helping hand, read this analysis by Ted Frank, which explains why the financial situation of Harriet Miers may not be as bad as it seems. Frank notes, for example, that Harriet Miers has real estate holdings that are not reflected in her financial disclosure forms (which focus on only certain types of reportable assets).
Even if her finances are viewed in the most optimistic light, however, it is clear that Harriet Miers, if confirmed to the Supreme Court, will be one of the poorest justices. So now we have yet another reason to oppose the SCOTUS nomination of Harriet Miers: she will bring down the average net worth of a Supreme Court justice. And we couldn't allow that to happen, could we?
Jeff: once you figure in the real estate, she's a millionaire. She just doesn't have a million dollars in liquid assets, but that's true of a lot of millionaires.
Posted by: Ted | October 10, 2005 at 10:27 PM
It's hard to get rich when you donate that much money to Planned Parenthood and People for the American Way.
Posted by: Dylan | October 10, 2005 at 09:23 PM
How can the top honcho of a major (400-lawyer) firm NOT be a millionaire? Sure she's no John Roberts but she's got to have a seven-figure net worth.
Posted by: Jeff Durbin | October 10, 2005 at 03:59 PM