Diversity hopes rest on Obama's choice of judge

Published on Saturday 2 May 2009 19:38

PRESIDENT Barack Obama is promising to work quickly and deliberately to name a replacement for retiring Justice David H Souter who could double the number of women on the Supreme Court, become the first Hispanic justice, or do both.

Conservative and liberal groups are quickly laying the groundwork for a nominee fight that could reignite contentious debate on issues from abortion and immigration to gay rights.

The departure of Souter, part of the court's liberal wing, is unlikely to change the ideological balance of a court that became more conservative during George Bush's presidency. Obama will probably pick a liberal-leaning replacement. The nine justices are appointed for life.

Souter, 69, announced on Friday that he would step down at the end of the court's term in late June. His retirement after almost two decades of unpredictable decisions gives Obama an early chance to place his stamp on the nine-member high court, possibly by naming a minority or a second woman.

"Obama's own record and rhetoric make clear that he will seek left-wing judicial activists who will indulge their passions, not justices who will make their rulings with dispassion," said Ed Whelan, president of the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Centre.

Nan Aron, president of the liberal Alliance for Justice, had a different view. "We're looking for President Obama to choose an eminently qualified candidate who is committed to the core constitutional values, who is committed to justice for all and not just a few," she said.

On Friday, Obama promised to name a Supreme Court justice who combines "empathy and understanding" with an impeccable legal background. Obama pointedly referred to his plan to have "him or her" on the bench in time for the Supreme Court's session that begins in October.

"I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book. It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives," Obama told reporters after speaking to Souter on the telephone.

Obama said he would not use a litmus test for nominees, but observed that he thought the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that gave women the right to end their pregnancies was correctly decided. Obama's selection will be the first high court nomination by a Democrat in 15 years.

While Obama ticked off many criteria, spokesman Robert Gibbs emphasised only one in a later briefing – a broad background in life gained outside campus classrooms and judges' chambers.

Obama promised to consult Republicans and Democrats on his choice to replace Souter.

Gibbs said Obama intended to have a nomination before the Senate "well before the end of July".

Souter was named to the court in 1990 by the first President Bush, a Republican. But on abortion, as well as other issues, the New Hampshire native quickly proved himself to be rather less than the strong conservative the Republicans had expected.

In 2000, he was one of four dissenting justices on a ruling that declared President George W Bush the winner of the disputed national election.

Democrats, who control 59 seats in the Senate, will be in a strong position when Obama's nominee arrives for confirmation proceedings.

Senator Arlen Specter, a Republican who turned Democrat earlier in the week, said the court "could use some diversity along a number of lines," including African-Americans and Hispanics.

The court has one black justice, Clarence Thomas, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, 76, who recently underwent surgery for cancer, is the only woman.