Yesterday, Bush raised some eyebrows with his comment yesterday about what people consider important in a judicial nominee.
Bush did not say when he would announce his pick to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor but said he had interviewed candidates "from all walks of life" in the search for her replacement.
"I will put the person who can do the job. But I am mindful that diversity is one of the strengths of the country," he said.
A lot of people took that to mean that he would nominate either a woman or a Hispanic. Over at Red State, Erick is reporting rumors that the choice will be either Priscilla Owen or Alberto Gonzales. In the comments section, people are definitely excited about either of those choices and think (hope) that these are head fakes by the White House.
While reading about some of the other choices, I was struck by the idea of nominating Judge Alice Batchelder of the Sixth Circuit. Apparently, she has been interviewed by the White House. She is recommended by people who know her in very strong terms. Peter Schramm of the Ashbrook Center has very high praise for this Ohio judge.
While unpretentious, Judge Batchelder is well-read, peppering her opinions with quotes from the lofty heights of Aristotle’s Metaphysics to the whimsy of Alice in Wonderland. She can recite quotations from the Anti-Federalists as quickly as from the Federalists, and has the uncommon ability to reference minute details from cases she has not read in many years. I can tell you from personal experience that I have had a difficult time myself responding satisfactorily to her questions on whether or not the Anti-Federalists were right in their warnings about the separation of powers. She can make dinner conversation into a political philosophy seminar with ease, to the unease of this professor, never mind the lawyers she deals with.
Batchelder is also an avid student of some of the latest scholarship in fields like law and economics, but does not commit the jurisprudential errors of someone like Judge Posner, who has suggested that economic policy may trump legislative judgments. Given her scholarship, it should come as little surprise that she has written some of the most significant precedents in her circuit on complicated issues like intellectual property and antitrust law. And given her knowledge of the Federalist debates, it should be of little surprise that she has a well-formed view of the judiciary role within our constitutional order.
Christopher Flannery had an article this summer about some of the cases she's decided and her judicial style. And her personal background seems modest and one that would help her relate to Senator Feinstein's farmers. Todd Zwicki endorses the choice.
I have spent two summers taking classes for American history teachers at the Ashbrook Center and, having met Peter Schramm and taken a class from Christopher Flannery, I have the feeling that what matters to them in a judge is adherence to the Constitution without trying to read his or her personal views into that document. That is what matters to me. Last week, she gave a speech at the Ashbrook Center that was reaired on C-Span last night. You can listen to it here. I thought she displayed a grace and charm in that speech as well as a puckish sense of humor that would make her a very appealing witness before the Judiciary Committee. I think she would be as disarming as John Roberts has been. She sounds hard to demonize in the way that Edith Jones or Janice Rogers Brown would be. With no inside knowledge whatsoever, I became very high on the possibility of her nomination. And I must confess that we have put a little bet down on her and some other possibilities at Trade Sports - just to add some fun to all the speculation. According to the betting over there, she remains a real dark horse. In fact, I don't think that anyone knows anything. Names are being floated but the people who know aren't talking. We'll just have to wait until Friday for the announcement. And I hope that whomever is picked has nerves of steel. posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:27 AM
