SCOTUS Scuttlebutt: Naming Names

President Bush's announcement of his next Supreme Court nominee apparently won't come today, but could arrive as early as next week. Here are three good articles offering speculation about who the SCOTUS nominee might be (gavel bangs to Feddie and to Howard Bashman, who also gets birthday wishes):

1. Bush Is Not Expected to Feel Need to Pick Woman Again, Neil A. Lewis (NYT)

Money quote:

One lawyer close to the president said that when Mr. Bush chose Ms. Miers he did so after concluding there was not a long roster of female candidates with whom he felt comfortable.

"When he chose her," said the lawyer, "she was one of three finalists and the other two were men."

The other two candidates, the lawyer said, were federal appeals court judges, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and J. Michael Luttig, both of whom remain leading candidates who would bring strong legal and judicial credentials to any confirmation battle.

2. Miers, Under Fire From Right, Withdrawn as Court Nominee, Michael A. Fletcher & Charles Babington (WP)

Money quote:

Miers's withdrawal touched off a fresh wave of speculation about whom Bush would nominate for the seat. Some conservative activists predict Bush will reconsider some previously thought to be in the running, including federal appellate judges Samuel A. Alito Jr., J. Michael Luttig, Karen J. Williams, Michael W. McConnell and Priscilla R. Owen. Another federal judge mentioned is Diane S. Sykes.

Others speculated that Bush might nominate a senator with judicial experience, such as John Cornyn (R-Tex.), to avoid a contentious battle because senators would be unlikely to reject one of their own. Cornyn, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and one of the few to actively back Miers, played down that possibility, saying: "I doubt it will happen." 

3. Bush Pulls Plug on Miers, Jan Crawford Greenburg (Chicago Tribune)

Money quote:

The group [of leading contenders] includes Samuel Alito, J. Michael Luttig, Priscilla Owen and Karen Williams, the official said. All four judges had been interviewed by Bush or top administration officials and indicated they would accept the nomination if asked.

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Right now it seems that Judge Alito and Judge Luttig are generating the most buzz. Judge Alito may enjoy a slight lead over Judge Luttig (per Tom Goldstein of SCOTUSblog* and Erick of Confirm Them), perhaps because he's widely viewed as more confirmable than Judge Luttig. According to Neil Lewis of the Times, Judges Alito and Luttig both "would draw Democratic opposition," but Judge Alito "to a lesser extent" than Judge Luttig. In addition, Judge Alito is much nicer and less grating than Judge Luttig in terms of personality -- which, in this age of televised confirmation hearings, are virtues that shouldn't be underestimated.

Article III Groupie would love to see Judge Alito get the nod. But as she has previously speculated, don't be surprised if Judge Alito, one of the Great Unwashed, is forced to play "the Edith Brown Clement role," distracting media attention and enemy fire away from the real nominee: Judge Luttig, a member of the Elect and UTR's #1 feeder judge. In fact, the suspiciously great ease with which the White House Counsel's office has allowed Judge Alito to emerge as the frontrunner suggests that poor Sam Alito is being turned into the "Edith Clement" for the "John Roberts" of Mike Luttig (a close friend and former groomsman of Chief Justice Roberts).

The migration of Luttigators from Alexandria to One First Street is positively nauseating in its inevitability. A3G suspects that, in the end, the same will be said of their boss. In nominating Harriet Miers, President Bush tried to make an unorthodox pick, and it blew up in his face. The second time around, he can be expected to go with Judge Luttig -- the most orthodox, obvious pick of them all.

A long time ago, A3G learned that life isn't fair. But why does it have to be so g***amn boring???

* Tom Goldstein is predicting that Judge Alito will be the nominee. Goldstein's skill as a Supreme Court prognosticator should not be underestimated; only 42 minutes into the Harriet Miers nomination, he correctly predicted that she wouldn't make it onto the high court.

Comments

I hope that it is Williams (JD South Carolina), Cornyn (JD St. Mary's) or Owen (JD Baylor). This over-elitist atmosphere has been getting to me.

I am personally hoping for Williams (JD South Carolina), Cornyn (JD St Mary's), or Owen (JD Baylor). This over-elitist c--- has been a little much for me. One would think that what a candidate has done since leaving law school would count for more than which law school they went to.

[samuelalito]

Mike Luttig is gloating a little prematurely, methinks.

Goldstein also correctly predicted the Roberts nomination months in advance.