If you could pick the next Supreme Court nominee, who would it be?

[white_wolf]

This is just a hypothetical of course, but if it was up to you, who would you pick for the next open seat on the Supreme Court? For me personally, even though he is not a judge, I would be very interested to see what Ronald Dworkin would do on the Court. His essays about some of the current Court's decisions are very good.

[Rosco T.]

1. Eliot Spitzer

I don't give a damn what he did with his own money on his own time. The man is brilliant and would be a fine voice.

[Warpy]

8. I'm with you

He's paid for walking into a setup dick first.

I think I'd rather see him as AG, but USSC will also do.

[ashling]

34. Elliot Spitzer has said that Citizens United was OK

On Chris Hayes the other day

[Chipper Chat]

2. Barney Frank

nt

[Rosco T.]

3. +1 to that

[unblock]

14. lol! i haven't live a good enough life to deserve seeing barney on the supreme court!

and while of course i'd prefer to see his opinions garner majority status, what i wouldn't give to read his blistering dissents!

[Tx4obama]

18. Barney Frank will be 72 years old in March. He's too old to be a SCJ nominee :( n/t

[MrCoffee]

4. Erwin Chemerinsky

He'd be brilliant on the Court

[hifiguy]

12. +1

Chemerinsky is smarter than the proverbial treeful of owls and decidedly liberal.

[MrCoffee]

21. He guest lectured one of my Federal Courts classes in law school

He is far and away the smartest person I've ever met.

Edited to add: He actually wrote the textbook for that class, so I shouldn't have been surprised.

[Vattel]

37. Dworkin is smarter

[Enrique]

5. Glenn Greenwald

[jody]

6. Hillary Clinton nt

[obamanut2012]

38. +1

[demtenjeep]

7. Is Hillary qualified?

Gore?

[Tx4obama]

11. Qualified - BUT Hillary will 65 yrs old this year and she wants to retire to private life.

Nominee needs to be around 55 years of age or younger

Just my opinion.

[11 Bravo]

9. Rush Limbaugh ... Because only one SCOTUS justice has ever been impeached (Samuel Chase) but ...

it's time for a certain jiggling, gelatinous, mound of shit to be not only impeached, but also convicted.

[adigal]

10. Hillary Clinton, brilliant and it would make the Tea Party heads

spin around and around like the Exorcist girl.

[w8liftinglady]

15. I would LOVE to see Hillary as SC judge.

[Siwsan]

13. Jennifer Granholm

She would be brilliant.

[Tikki]

16. Edmund Gerald Brown Jr.

Tikki

[Tx4obama]

17. I'd pick Harold Koh or Goodwin Liu. See the Wiki list below

Here's a link that has a pretty long list of the folks that were mentioned before/during the Sotomayer and Kagan appointments:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_Supreme_Court_candidates#Names_mentioned

[msongs]

19. gotta pick somebody who is rather young, for a long term justice. sorry Hillary nt

[Downwinder]

20. Anita Hill!!

[gateley]

26. Wouldn't that be sweet? nt

[Tx4obama]

22. 'Majority' of current Justices were well under the age of 60 when appointed.

Current Justices here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Supreme_Court#Current_justices

The fifth column shows their age at appointment.

Early 50s appears to be the median age.

[Mopar151]

23. Art Brennan

A neighbor of David Souter's, from Weare, NH

By Anne Flaherty / The Associated Press
May 13, 2008
Photo by Ken Williams and Monitor File
Former New Hampshire superior court judge Arthur Brennan testified before Congress yesterday about corruption in the Iraqi government.
The Bush administration repeatedly ignored corruption at the highest levels within the Iraqi government and kept secret potentially embarrassing information so as not to undermine its relationship with Baghdad, according to two former State Department employees.

Former New Hampshire superior court judge Arthur Brennan, who briefly served in Baghdad as head of the department's Office of Accountability and Transparency last year, told Senate Democrats yesterday that the office was understaffed and its warnings and recommendations ignored. He was joined by James Mattil, who worked as chief of staff.

Brennan, of Weare, also alleges the State Department prevented a congressional staffer visiting Baghdad from talking with staffers by insisting they were too busy. In reality, Brennan said, the staffers were watching movies at the embassy and on their computers. The staffers' workload had been cut dramatically because of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's "evisceration" of Iraq's top anti-corruption office, he said.

The State Department's policies "not only contradicted the anti-corruption mission but indirectly contributed to and has allowed corruption to fester at the highest levels of the Iraqi government," Brennan told the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/former-state-judge-tells-of-corruption-in-iraqs-government?page=full

[Tx4obama]

25. How old is he?

Can't find a bio on Wiki for him.

[Mopar151]

27. 71, I think

A neighbor of mine backalong, as well. I met him when he spoke at the funeral of my crazy-ass old roommie, Tommy Banks.

[gateley]

24. I'd love to see Spitzer, too! nt

[leeroysphitz]

28. Mike Papantonio. WTH

[Vattel]

29. I'm with you. Dworkin would be awesome.

He is brilliant, he is kind, and according to Judge Learned Hand, he was the best SCOTUS clerk Hand ever had.

[Vattel]

30. although he is 80 yrs old.

[Tx4obama]

31. 80? That's about 30 years too old !!! LOL :)

Seems strange that so many folks on this thread are picking people that wouldn't even be considered by a sitting president.

I'm sorta surprised that no one has mentioned anyone that has already died

[white_wolf]

32. Yes, I want Thurgood Marshall back :)

[Vattel]

36. lol, he's a very young 80.

[ashling]

33. There is no requirement that a nominee be a judge

Earl Warren was gov. of California

[Edweird]

35. Roy Snyder