Walking home today, I started thinking about how if William Rehnquist steps down, maybe there will be an opening for Bush to name an honest-to-God, talented, prolific, respected judge. Maybe it would ease a little pressure on the O'Connor slot, so instead of naming Al Gonzalez or worse, Bush could name Frank Easterbrook (brother to Gregg), Richard Posner, or (my own favorite) Alex Kozinski. Alex Kozinski would be the most qualified Supreme Court nominee since Brandeis or Holmes. All three of them are legal geniuses and real judges' judges, not the political tools and right-wing conjurers whose names are being bandied about.
Thinking about the likely nominees, it's a little amazing how they're not judges taken seriously in the legal community. They're the fringe, wacky characters that make people roll their eyes. Naming them to the Supreme Court would be like casting Hamlet with professional wrestlers. Ideology aside, it's a little painful.
Still, in my tiny law-dork heart, I'd be at peace with a Michael Luttig nomination and a Chief Justice Scalia if Alex Kozinski is nominated as a trade-off.
I'm not expecting any of this to happen. The best-case scenario is a potentially benign, relatively dim hack like Gonzalez to balance an aggressive conservative superstar like Michael Luttig or Edith Jones. But a dork can dream.
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4 comments:
It's sad that Gonzalez (he of the superlatively rootin', tootin' and summarily executin' Bush administration in Texas) is considered the "acceptable" choice. But enough of that? Would Rowdy Roddy Piper make a good Laertes?
Not that I don't take things like capital punishment and jurisprudence seriously, but honestly, as far as this nomination goes, thinking persons are totally getting the DDT.
But wouldn't Justice Alex Kozinski have to bow out of any case involving Etros, waxing, high-end boutiques, or exfoliants?
Wait, maybe I'm getting my slaw confused here...
Would hearsay suddenly be acceptable? It's a hallmark of A-Kucz-style reporting.
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