President Could Appoint Non-Judge To High Court

[sabra]

Rove?
<<SNIP>>
http://www.ktvu.com/news/4718159/detail.html

President Could Appoint Non-Judge To High Court

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Wednesday he would consider nominating someone with no experience as a judge to the Supreme Court.

He also told reporters the White House is considering "all kinds of people" to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. That includes judges and non-judges.

Bush also said he is open to picking a woman, something first lady Laura Bush said she hoped he would do.

The president refused to put a timetable on his decision. He said he plans to interview potential nominees, but wouldn't say when that might begin, adding that even if he knew who the nominees might be, he probably would not say so publicly.

<</SNIP>>

[Occulus]

1. I think having zero qualification to sit on SCOTUS would be

grounds for the impeachment of that judge once * is gone.

No prior experience as a judge? And * wants someone like that to sit on SCOTUS?

NO.

[Q3JR4]

4. The constitution does not specifically require experience.

Why would the "non-experienced" in non-experienced judge be grounds for impeachment?

[anotherdrew]

57. no but common sence does

[depakid]

62. Not really...

Earl Warren had no judicial experience- neither did Louis Brandeis, and they were two of the most enlightened and ethical Justices to ever sit on the bench.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. It's happened many times, actually.

A lot of Senators have done it.

[Kelvin Mace]

10. No, it is permitted by the Constitution

and non-judges have been appointed in the past, though none in recent memory.

[Peregrine]

48. Bill Douglass wasn't a judge

He was Chairman of the SEC when nominated.

[On the Road]

11. Earl Warren was Not a Judge

He was, I believe, former governor of California. And he became Chief Justice.

[PittPoliSci]

77. i was about to site that.

[coda]

81. And he was also CA's AG for several years. nt

nt

[Stand and Fight]

19. Not quite... Not at all actually.

He would not be violating any laws -- or the Constitution for that matter -- and therefore he could not be impeached on those grounds. The Constitution does not specify or lay out any qualifications for being an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Furthermore, it does not lay out any qualifications for being the Chief Justice of the United States. The Constitution is actually very vague in regards to the Supreme Court.

Article 4 states that there will be a Supreme Court.

Article 1, Section 3 hints at having a Chief Justice.

Article 2, Section 2 alludes to the "Judges of the Supreme Court".

Kind of sucks in a way, but it is the law. Plus we have to understand that at the founding of this country most lawyers were self-taught in that fact that they did not attend school. Therefore appointees to the Supreme Court were thought to be exclusive of those who had excelled at the practice of the law. This is one major loophole in the Constitution that has gone ignored unfortunately...

[MrSandman]

42. Why not...

Given the Chief Exucutive's vast qualifications for his office.

[IndianaGreen]

61. Bush has zero qualifications to be in the White House

so why not let the Chimp appoint another simian to the federal bench.

When we take Congress away from the GOP we should have mass impeachment of the federal judiciary and start again from scratch!

[LibertyorDeath]

2. OMFG!

[trotsky]

3. Hmmm... HRC has no experience as a judge, and she's a woman...

:) :) :)

[Up2Late]

15. Who's HRC?

:shrug:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

20. Hillary Rodham Clinton n/t

[soothsayer]

6. Good Lord, it'll be Rove, just like Jon Stewart joked!

[sidpleasant]

31. Rove doesn't even have a college degree

He dropped out to run the College Republicans or whatever that group of scrofulous nincompoops call themselves.

[Redstone]

7. Me! Me! me! How about me? Appoint me!

Man, I could have some fun and do some good.

Even if I did have to wear the damn robe. I guess they have good air-conditioning in that room, though.

Redstone

[Tummler]

8. Chief Justice Ann Coulter

She's the perfect Bush choice: female (allegedly), young (relatively speaking), a self-styled "legal scholar," and absolutely batshit insane.

:scared:

[thinkingwoman]

29. absolute

batshit insane is the litmus test.

You nailed it.

[noonwitch]

30. I doubt she'd make it out of the Senate hearings

There are enough republicans who loathe her-McCain, Snowe, Collins, et al would never vote for her.

She'd have to do what she did to Ronald MacDonald to get any male dem to vote for her.

[leftofcool]

33. with bleached blonde hair to boot..................eom

[NewJeffCT]

9. Setting us up for Alberto Gonzalez?

Or maybe Lindsey Graham as a "moderate" to balance out a hard RW to replace Rehnquist.

[northzax]

38. gonzalez was on the Texas SC

so he has chops. not much, but some.

I wonder who he has in mind? you know they have the list ready. I bet it's someone not on anyone's radar screen.

[NewJeffCT]

40. My guess

They nominate somebody so far RW and so outspoken that everybody on the good side gets all worked up over it - MoveOn, People for the American Way, abortion rights groups, etc, spend millions on ads to defeat the nominee. Reid gets his 40+ votes to filibuster and the nominee is defeated or withdrawn.

Bush then nominates somebody equally radically right, but not nearly as outspoken. The left, having shot their load on the first nominee, is left with little money & energy and the nominee gets through on a 65-35 vote.

(After all, we got Scalia after Robert Bork was defeated...)

By the way, I think the idea that Bush may nominate a non-judge was initially somebody that was not a federal judge... but, I could be wrong.

[northzax]

49. too subtle, I think

they cannot stand losing, not at all. They are like napoleon, their supporters will put up with a lot of stuff, as long as they keep winning, but once the losing starts the house of cards collapses. Reagan could afford a loss, Bush* can't.

[Ganja Ninja]

12. Not another Bush I hope.

I don't think Jenna is qualified.

[Gildor Inglorion]

13. Chief Justice Earl Warren was appointed by Pres. Eisenhower

He had no experience as a judge, only as gov. of California. For those of you who didn't live through the 50's and 60's...well, let's just say that Warren and his brethren were a HUGE disappointment to the Republicans who expected the Supreme Court to be ever-conservative. I'd LOVE to see that happen to * and company. I don't really expect it, though.

[stray cat]

14. Condi Rice?

[Up2Late]

25. That's who Jesus told me he would pick, last time we talked.

(that Condi would be picked, not Jesus, that is)
At least that's who the voice in my head claims to be. :crazy:

[The Stranger]

16. Why stop at requiring that they have judge-type experience?

Why even require a human? Why not appoint a dog or cat or a rabbit to sit on the bench? Didn't Caligula make his horse a Senator?

[northzax]

39. actually, the current rumour is

that it will be a Stem Cell.

[GoBlue]

17. No experience necessary

Said the idiot to the village.

[RaRa]

18. During the '90s I read that 2 possible Dem judges

would be Mario Cuomo and George Mitchell. I don't think either one has ever been a judge.

[berni_mccoy]

21. Chief Justice Karl Rove

OMG. Bush can Pardon Rove, then Appoint him.

[Norquist Nemesis]

22. It's kind of like appointing the Pope

without the white smoke fanfare. :evilgrin:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

23. Chief Justice Ralph Reed

[Moose_head]

24. Pat Robertson wouldn't have balls to go thru a Senate inquiry-

would he...?

:yoiks:

[Up2Late]

26. How about Enron's Ken Lay!

That would be like Money in the Bank! He'd owe * "Big time."

It would almost be like a "Get out of Jail Free" card.

[MN ChimpH8R]

27. There have been other non-judges

including Earl Warren (prosecutor and Gov of California) Felix Frankfurter (straight from the faculty of Harvard Law School); William O. Douglas (SEC and FDR administration positions) and Robert Jackson (government lawyer, solicitor general and, while on leave from the SCOTUS, Nuremberg War Crimes prosecutor - note that Jackson was the last SCOTUS justice who didn't graduate from law school, he apprenticed in the law), Wm. Howard Taft (ex-President and cabinet member, not sure if he was ever a judge), Louis Brandeis (private practice and pro bono for progressive causes); Arthur Goldberg (cabinet position); Abe Fortas; Lewis Powell; Rehnquist (DOJ when nominated as Associate Justice) and a couple of others I can't remember

[negativenihil]

28. what a terrible idea!

:wtf: :wtf:

[bhunt70]

32. uh, Frist or someone equally as abhorrant.

[despairing optimist]

34. Chief Justice Britney Spears

A little light on the reasoning but if she falters, she'll just dance out the decisions and smile.

[displacedtexan]

35. That paves the way for Ted Olson.

http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/aboutosg/t_olson_bio.htm

[SangamonTaylor]

36. Chief Justice Jeb Bush ...n/t

[Massachusetts]

37. he would consider nominating someone with no experience

[Gregorian]

41. Pee Wee Herman!

Oh no. I just got that dreadful feeling- AHNOLD!




No. Please no!

[UCLA Dem]

43. You don't just have to be a judge, you have to be a brilliant judge.

Not just anyone can process the kink of stuff they do. Supreme Court justices (even when corrupt and immoral) have to be brilliant law scholars, I don't see how anyone else can keep up.

[not fooled]

44. er, Unka Clarence??

"Not just anyone can process the kink of stuff they do. Supreme Court justices (even when corrupt and immoral) have to be brilliant law scholars"

[northzax]

47. I assume that was your veiled racist reference to Justice Thomas?

look, I rarely agree with the man, I think he's wrong on just about everything, but that doesn't mean he isn't smart. He is a black man who became a lawyer and then a law professor, that ain't jsut affirmative action, you know?

that doesn't mean he's the smartest person on the court, but he's not dumb. He has the skills of a legal scholar, whether or not he applies them appropriately.

[bornskeptic]

52. FDR would disagree.

He made eight appointments to the Supreme Court. Two had prior judicial experience:
Frank Murphy
Wiley Rutledge

Six had no prior judicial experience:
Hugo Black
Stanley Reed
Felix Frankfurter
William O. Douglas
James Byrnes
Robert Jackson

Some more facts:

When Brown vs. Board of Education if Topeka KS was decided unanimously in 1954, only two of the nine Justices had had judicial experience prior to their appointment to the Supreme Court: Fred Vinson and Sherman Minton.

There have been sixteen Chief Justices. Six served as a judge prior to being appointed to the Supreme Court:
John Rutledge
Melville Fuller
Edward Douglass White
William Howard Taft
Fred Vinson
Warren Burger

Ten did not:
John Jay
Oliver Ellsworth
John Marshall
Roger Taney
Salmon Chase
Morrison Waite
Charles Evans Hughes
Harlan Stone
Earl Warren
William Rehnquist

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/about/members.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

It's only in the last thirty years that Presidents have confined themselves to choosing judges for the Supreme Court. Of course a background in law is necessary. Even Bush knows that nobody without a law degree would be confirmed. I don't see that restricting consideration to judges has improved the quality of the Court.

[Peregrine]

53. They are called law clerks

Who do you think does all of the research? And in some cases write the initial drafts of decisions.

[Drifter]

45. Why not ...

the asshat is president, and he has no qualifications what so ever.

Cheers
Drifter

[Karmadillo]

46. Are the twins still unemployed?

n/t

[VegasWolf]

50. Make the fusion of church and state complete - appoint Jerry Falwell! nt

[AzDar]

51. Jeebus wept.....It's gonna be Associate Justice PICKLES!!!!

[DanCa]

54. Chief Justice Karl Rove

Jon Stewart Joked about this last night and I got chills. Now am downright scared.

[WhiteTara]

55. OMG I saw *s pick for the head of CPB

what a lame ass he is! His only qualification for his position is...hmm I can't think of one. So for a non judge to sit on the supreme court is like asking Goofy to run Disney. Oh, please, oh please, please please let * and KKKarl and Heartless to become so imbroiled in impeachment they have no more time or chances to destroy what little is left.
:scared:

[anotherdrew]

56. maybe he should appoint himself and his daddy, ain't no law 'ginst it

[anotherdrew]

58. something must be done and soon or this nation is doomed

[anotherdrew]

59. I have a prediction, came to me before I saw this - Dan Quayle

::: Dan Quayle :::

[rocktivity]

60. Way to go, KTVU!

Ignore that Rove story, rah rah rah! This is even funner than the stories about Kerry picking John McCain as his running mate.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Lisa]

63. PLEASE tell me this isn't going to be the setup for a new reality show!

[goclark]

64. Condi !

[UCSBLiberalCat53]

65. Bush Says He Might Consider Newcomers for High Court

In more general terms, Senators Reid and Leahy also sought to discourage the president from naming an extremely conservative candidate who would engender strong opposition from Democrats and provoke a bitter confirmation fight.

"We're at a time in the history of this country where we've had enough discussion, debate and contention on judges," Mr. Reid said. "Senator Frist and I want to avoid that, as the two leaders of the Senate."

(snip)

"Someone from the White House called me yesterday, asking for any input I might have," said the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the founder of the Moral Majority and chancellor of Liberty University in Virginia.

Mr. Falwell said he declined to offer advice, telling the White House staff member that, because of Mr. Bush's track record appointing conservative judges, "I am willing to sit back and trust him and pray for him."

Link

Hello, Supreme Court Justice Jerry Falwell. (Remember what Cheney did when he was asked for advice on a running mate?)

[Retrograde]

66. What's Jeb up to these days? (n/t)

[elperromagico]

67. Pick me! Pick me!

I'm a conservative in the mold of David Souter. ;) ;) ;) ;)

[kestrel91316]

68. I think my cat, Mummy, would do a great job.

[UCSBLiberalCat53]

69. Mummy is a philosopher cat and infinitely wiser than our Resident

at my LJ Community Catsagainstbush, we have a supreme court, a cabinet, and a White House full of Cats!

[Lindacooks]

70. Well, considering that chimpy is unqualified for his job,

that seems reasonable. NOT.

[JABBS]

71. Bush Says He Might Consider Newcomers for High Court

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/13/politics/13cnd-court.html

WASHINGTON, July 13 - President Bush said today that his nominee for the Supreme Court may be someone who has never sat on the bench before.

"Would I be willing to consider people who had never been a judge?" Mr. Bush said. "And the answer is, 'You bet.'"

Mr. Bush said he had had "a very good meeting" on Tuesday with Senate leaders of both parties, who had encouraged him to look beyond the federal judiciary for candidates to replace the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

"We're considering all kind of people," Mr. Bush said after a Cabinet meeting today. "Judges, non-judges. Laura gave me some good advice yesterday, which is to consider women. Which, of course I'm doing." First Lady Laura Bush said she would be pleased if the president nominated a woman to fill Justice O'Connor's seat.

There have been months of speculation about yet another vacancy on the court, to be created if Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist steps down. The chief justice, 80 years old and battling thyroid cancer, was hospitalized on Tuesday night in Arlington, Va., with a fever, the court announced today. There were no further reports on his condition.

Seven of the current justices were federal appellate judges at the time of their nominations, including three - Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Ruth Bader Ginsburg - who sat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Justice O'Connor was a state appeals court judge in Arizona.

But many Supreme Court members over the years were not judges until they took their seats on the highest court in the land. Chief Justice Rehnquist, in fact, had never been a judge until he joined the Supreme Court in 1972. (The Constitution says justices "shall hold their offices during good behavior" but says nothing about their qualifications, even that they be lawyers, although all have been.)

[Logansquare]

72. The Daily Show suggested Karl Rove

once again tragedy imitates comedy.

[oioioi]

75. this was my thought on reading this too...

It would certainly be an answer to his little legal tangle.

:rofl:

[FlemingsGhost]

73. Ah-nuld ... Ah-nuld ... Ah-nuld!

What? To be Suuuuu-preme, you need to be ehhhk-treme.

And Ahnuld will fill out the robe.

[LeighAnn]

74. No Judicial Experience Necessary

Corporate loophole navigating a big plus

[deadparrot]

76. That'll work out well.

Go ahead, George. :eyes:

[PittPoliSci]

78. Falwell's got one foot in the grave anyway...

not to be so callous, even if he were appointed, he wouldn't last too long due to his declining health.

[Zorra]

79. Then Katherine Harris looks like a lock for the job. n/t

[NawlinsNed]

80. Ted Nugent and Gene Simmons?

Rock on!