Hi all,
Here's a piece from Tuesday's Boston Globe that gives a list of those that
Obama may choose to nominate for the Supreme Court.
Bob Hachey
Who Obama might nominate for Supreme Court . WASHINGTON - President Obama
has not said whom he is considering for the Supreme Court, but some Cabinet
members, politicians, and federal judges are being prominently floated as
possible picks: Attorney General Loretta Lynch: Though Lynch's nomination
was fraught with politics, she has been received relatively well by both
parties since taking over the Justice Department less than a year ago.
Before Obama promoted her, Lynch was a US attorney for a key district based
in Brooklyn. Her role in the Obama administration could prove to be
divisive. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson: Johnson has serious
credentials in many critical areas of the law, having served as the
Pentagon's general counsel and as a federal prosecutor. He has the benefit
of having been confirmed by the Senate multiple times. But Republicans
loathe Obama's executive actions on immigration that Johnson's department
put forward. California Attorney General Kamala Harris: Elected statewide in
California in 2010, Harris is a longtime prosecutor and rising Democratic
star who has drawn occasional comparisons with Obama. She's currently
running to replace Senator Barbara Boxer of California. Minnesota Senator
Amy Klobuchar: Picking a current colleague of the senators who will be
voting on Obama's nominee could be one strategy to increase prospects for a
vote. Klobuchar, in her second Senate term, is a former prosecutor and
member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch: The
Republican senator would be nominated only if Obama decided it would be
better to pick a candidate Democrats didn't love. Senator Lindsey Graham,
Republican of South Carolina, has suggested Obama go with a "consensus pick"
like Hatch. Judge Sri Srinivasan: On the US Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit, Srinivasan has long been eyed for the high
court. Born in India, he clerked for former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor - a
Republican. He has the added appeal of having been confirmed unanimously
less than three years ago. Judge Patricia Millett: On the US Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia, Millett was nominated by Obama in 2013
after John Roberts joined the Supreme Court as chief justice. Her nomination
lingered for months amid a fight about the filibuster. Millett had
experience in the US solicitor general's office, arguing cases before the
Supreme Court. Judge Merrick Garland: The chief judge of the US Court for
Appeals of the District of Columbia, Garland is a Harvard Law School
graduate whose name has long been in the mix. He's considered a moderate
judge and has experience on the D.C. circuit, which handles many cases
involving administration actions. Judge Paul Watford: On the US Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Watford once served as a law clerk to
Ginsburg and worked as a federal prosecutor before Obama appointed him to
the San Francisco-based court. An African-American, Watford was confirmed,
61 to 34, in 2012. Judge Jacqueline Nguyen: On the US Court of Appeals for
the Ninth Circuit, Nguyen would be the first Asian-American on the Supreme
Court. She emigrated as a child from Vietnam and worked as an assistant US
attorney and a judge in California before Obama nominated her to federal
courts. Judge Robert Wilkins: On the US Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia, Wilkins was a public defender before being appointed by Obama to
federal positions. Wilkins, an African-American and a chemical engineer by
training, was raised by a single mother. Judge Jane Kelly: On the US Court
of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Kelly had served as a public defender
before being unanimously confirmed to the St. Louis-based court. She's
earned praise from Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, but the
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman has since urged delay of the nomination
to replace Scalia.
