Disorder in The Court?

Chief Justice Rehnquist Hospitalized
AP - WASHINGTON - Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's latest hospitalization has added more intrigue to the guessing game about his retirement prospects.

There was no indication the news would affect the president's selection of a candidate — or the timing of an announcement — for replacing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who announced earlier this month that she was stepping down.

It was fairly universally regarded as inevitable that some new Supreme Court Justices would need to be appointed during this Presidential term, although it may be happening sooner than anticipated.

Sen. Arlen Specter, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, urged Bush to pick someone other than a judge. Groups on both sides are poised to launch expensive lobbying campaigns, but Specter has said he wants them to pull back.

Bush recently had a breakfast meeting with four key senators - Specter, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Minority Leader Harry Reid and Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee - which was part of the White House effort to consult both parties before choosing a nominee. Democrats, who had prodded the White House to talk with them, said they were encouraged by the meeting but asked for more discussions with actual names. Because they believe that Bush may wish to nominate the first Hispanic Justice, Democrats suggested three Hispanic judges.

First Lady Laura Bush has said she hopes that O'Connor, the first woman on the high court, will be followed by another.

President Bush has said that he would consider nominating a woman or someone with no experience as a judge to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Now, of course, he may have to nominate candidates for two open spots on the Supreme Court. The Senate has had dual confirmation hearings before and "frankly, it can be done," said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on President Bush's picks.

The last time there were simultaneous vacancies at the court was 1971. Justices Hugo Black and John Marshall Harlan retired that September, about a week apart. Their successors were Rehnquist, then assistant attorney general in the Nixon administration, and Lewis Powell.

How will this scenario ultimately play out?

Only time will tell...

UPDATE!


WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush named federal appeals judge John G. Roberts Jr. to fill the first Supreme Court vacancy in a decade on Tuesday, delighting Republicans and unsettling Democrats by picking a young jurist of impeccably conservative credentials.

If confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, the 50-year-old Roberts would succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, long a swing vote on a court divided over abortion, affirmative action, states' rights and more.

Bush offered Roberts the job in a lunchtime telephone call, then invited him to the White House for a nationally televised, prime-time announcement. The president said his choice will "strictly apply the Constitution in laws, not legislate from the bench."