Bush Picks Harriet Miers For Supreme Court - No Judicial Experience
Bush picks Harriet Miers for Supreme Court
White House counsel with no judicial experience named to replace O'Connor
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9566882/
Updated: 8:23 a.m. ET Oct. 3, 2005
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Monday nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court, reaching into his loyal inner circle for a pick that could reshape the nation’s judiciary for years to come.
“She has devoted her life to the rule of law and the cause of justice,” Bush said, announcing his choice from the Oval Office with Miers at his side. “She will be an outstanding addition to the Supreme Court of the United States.”
If confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, Miers would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman now on the nation’s highest court and the third to serve there in its history.
Miers, who has never been a judge, was the first woman to serve as president of the Texas State Bar and the Dallas Bar Association.
Without a judicial record, it's difficult to know whether Miers, 60, would dramatically move the court to the right. She would fill the shoes of O'Connor, a swing voter on the court for years who has cast deciding votes on some affirmative action, abortion and death penalty cases.
Low-profile nominee
Known for thoroughness and her low-profile, Miers is one of the first staff members to arrive at the White House in the morning and among the last to leave.
When Bush named her White House counsel in November 2004, the president described Miers as a lawyer with keen judgment and discerning intellect -- “a trusted adviser on whom I have long relied for straightforward advice.”
Miers has been leading the White House effort to help Bush choose nominees to the Supreme Court, so getting the nod herself duplicates a move that Bush made in 2000 when he tapped the man leading his search committee for a vice presidential running mate -- Dick Cheney.
In nominating Miers, conservatives say Bush is reaffirming his commitment to picking judges who will respect the letter of the law and not allow cultural or social trends sway their opinions.
“Harriet Miers is a top-notch lawyer who understands the limited role that judges play in our society,” said Noel Francisco, former assistant White House counsel and deputy assistant attorney general during the Bush administration. “In nominating Ms. Miers, the president has reaffirmed his commitment to appointing judges who will respect the rule of law and not legislate from the bench.”
