President Barack Obama will get his first opportunity to reshape the Supreme Court when he moves to replace Justice David Souter, who announced last week his retirement from the high court after serving for nearly two decades.

There was immediate speculation in legal and political circles about whether Obama would appoint a liberal woman or a person of color to the high court.

"Now, the process of selecting someone to replace Justice Souter is among my most serious responsibilities as president," Obama said last week at the White House.  "So I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity." 

Obama said he plans to have Souter’s replacement in the job by October, the start of the court’s next term. White House aides are already identifying potential candidates and bracing for a confirmation battle. Obama’s appointment will mark the first seat filled by a Democratic president in 15 years.

Legal experts said Souter’s departure is not likely to change the conservative-liberal split on the Supreme Court. 



Names that immediately surfaced as possible replacements for Souter included two appeals judges, Sonia Sotomayor of New York and Diane P. Wood of Chicago. Other names that have been mentioned include Obama’s longtime friend Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts governor and the first black elected to lead that state, and Jennifer Granholm, the governor of Michigan.

"It is reasonable to assume that President Obama will appoint a justice whose proven judicial philosophy mirrors that of retiring Justice Souter and is in line with his own judicial philosophy," Bill Murrain, a former civil rights attorney who now specializes in health care issues, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

"A related question will be whether the president will pay special attention to appointing ethnicities which are not currently or have ever been represented on the highest court of the land, specifically, Latinos and Asians," said Murrain, who was on Capitol Hill last week when news spread of Souter’s retirement. "I, for one, would contend that African-Americans are no longer represented on the court."

Charles D. Ellison, director for the Center for New Politics and Policy, said "conventional wisdom" might dictate that Obama would pick a Latino, a way to ease pressure from Latino groups feeling left out of his administration.

"But, this is not a predictable president, if the past hundred days have taught us anything," Ellison told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "He doesn't like doing what he's expected to do."

"Could he go for Judge Sonia Sotomayor and get a two-for-one deal: Hispanic and high powered legal credentials?" Ellison asked. "Or Gov. Deval Patrick, which would please African-Americans long tired of Justice Thomas and civil rights activists worried about conservative dilution of key law?"

"Maybe [he'd pick] Gov. Jennifer Granholm in an effort to reach out to Michigan voters feeling burned by the unfolding automaker tragedy," he added. "We know that he won't base his final selection on race alone. But he will look for a balance between the political solution and the most qualified person."

Souter was appointed in 1990 by the President George H.W. Bush, and was a staunch liberal on the court.

"He came to the bench with no particular ideology. He never sought to promote a political agenda," Obama said of Souter, "and he consistently defied labels and rejected absolutes, focusing instead on just one task - reaching a just result in the case that was before him."

Obama’s appointment comes as the Supreme Court will hear the most controversial case on reverse discrimination in years.

The case involves white firefighters from New Haven, Connecticut who say they have been unfairly penalized by the city's civil rights laws designed to promote .....

Please Login or Register to post comments on this article

Close Comment  |   Read More Comments Hide More Comments

Comments * :

Please do not enter the HTML tags(Maximum 600 characters).