Hispanic Groups to Battle Over Nominee

[Judi Lynn]

Hispanic Groups to Battle Over Nominee

By JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer

July 11, 2005, 2:15 AM EDT


WASHINGTON -- The possibility of two Supreme Court vacancies -- following Sandra Day O'Connor's planned retirement and speculation surrounding Chief Justice William Rehnquist -- increases chances that President Bush will nominate the court's first Hispanic justice, observers say.

That nomination would be a milestone for America's fastest-growing minority group, whose vote is heavily coveted by politicians. At the same time, it could magnify the split between conservative and liberal Hispanic groups if a battle breaks out over the nominee's ideology.
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The names most often mentioned as possible Hispanic nominees are Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- the first Latino attorney general and a close friend of the president -- and Judge Emilio Garza of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Garza was President George H.W. Bush's second choice for the Supreme Court after Clarence Thomas.

Longshot candidates include U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa of Texas; Judge Edward Prado, also of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals; Chief Judge Danny Boggs, a Cuba native, of the 6th Circuit appeals court in Cincinnati; Judges Jose Cabranes and Sonia Sotomayor of the New York-based 2nd Circuit Court; and Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero III.
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http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-scotus-hispanic-nominees,0,4400680.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

(The last nominee mentioned, Raoul Cantero III, is Jeb's last Florida Supreme Court appointee, and the grandson of brutal Cuban US-supported dictator Fulgencio Batista.)