Any suggestions as to who Obama should name to SCOTUS when a vacancy arises? Here's one...

[Blackhatjack]

IT is a bit beyond the unexpected, but Johnathan Turley, law professor at George Washington School of Law, would make an excellent addition to the bench!

Check out his bio here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Turley

Who would you add to the list of possible appointments?

[meowomon]

1. Ditto on Turley

He has a brilliant mind and understands the Constitution. I agree.

[Hepburn]

2. IMO, excellent choice! n/t

[Richardo]

3. A little long in the tooth, but: John Dean

How sweet would that be?

[iamjoy]

9. Absolutely Not!

He should look for people younger than 60. Sorry, but if we get a Republican in another decade, I don't want Obama's appointments retiring.

[Richardo]

13. I know - but he is one of my favorite legal minds

[LiberalFighter]

18. I agree. They should be about the same age as Roberts when he became a justice.

[Sanity Claws]

11. No

I admire much of his work in the past few years but he hasn't practice law in over 30 years. He is a convicted felon and I believe he probably lost his law license as a result. I know nothing in the Constitution says that a Justice must be a lawyer but not being a lawyer is definitely a hindrance.

[iamjoy]

4. Himself?

Of course, I am joking, we need him as President. But, really, think of the advantages to having Obama on the Supreme Court

He's relatively young, he could help shape the Supreme Court for years to come.
He has a great temperment - he's calm, open and inclusive.
He has a background in Constitutional Law.

[emlev]

5. Anita Hill.

[Sebastian Doyle]

8. Wouldn't Clarence Thomas shit himself?

[Sebastian Doyle]

6. Since he's never been a Judge, he's probably not a likely SCOTUS appointee

Even Chimp's puppet John Roberts at least had 3 or 4 years on a lower court (also a Chimp appointment) first.

Of course Obama could do something similar.... appoint Turley to a lower court early in his administration. He probably wouldn't replace Stevens (likely the first retiree) but possibly another opening a few years down the road.

[cali]

10. not true. plenty of distinguised Justices were not judges prior to their appointments

and at least one non-judge is on the short list: Cass Sunstein.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

23. William O. Douglas,

Hugo Black, Earl Warren, Felix Frankfurter.

Not a dime's worth of judicial experience between them before they were named to the SCOTUS.

Sunstein would be excellent. He's an incrementalist left winger. Bite off a slice at a time while deciding nothing but the case in front of the Court. Had him as a visiting prof at Harvard. He's brilliant.

[Blackhatjack]

14. Of course being a Judge in the past is not a requirement....

At the Supreme Court level there are opportunities for attorneys to know the system very well, and to participate fully without ever being a judge. Turley has been involved with cases at that level, and testified as an expert before Congress and the Courts.

Decisions made at the Supreme Court level do not require prior experience as a judge. They do require educated and informed justices who are able to understand, interpret and apply the law. This Turley could do very well ....

[frazzled]

7. Whoever it is ...

They will have done at least one thing or made at least one judicial pronouncement that, amidst an otherwise illustrious career and brilliant string of accomplishments, we take strong exception to.

I am sure Jonathan Turley qualifies for that, as we would well discover if he were named. (I'm not rooting for Turley. because he has never been a judge and thus has no judicial record to examine.)

[cali]

12. the first replacement will likely be a woman and probably a latina

[old guy]

15. Absolutely!!!

Turley would be an excellent choice.

[whirlygigspin]

16. Wanda Sykes

A kick ass supremo!

(can't wait for the film version)

[MasonJar]

17. Love Turley. He'd be excellent. He is an expert in Constitutional Law.

We should start putting his name out as soon as Obama is inaugurated.

[TexasProgresive]

19. Constance "Connie" Rice

Conde"s second and better cousin.



Rice was born in Washington, D.C., and went on to graduate from Harvard College in 1978. She won the Root Tilden Public Interest Scholarship to New York University School of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctor in 1984. After law school, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Damon J. Keith, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and worked at Morrison & Foerster as a litigation associate. In 1991, she joined the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and became co-director of LDF’s Los Angeles Office in 1996.<2>

Career

As a litigator, Rice has filed class action civil rights cases redressing police misconduct, race and sex discrimination and unfair public policy in transportation, probation and public housing. She filed a landmark case on behalf of the Bus Riders Union that resulted in a mandate that more than 2 billion dollars be spent to improve the Los Angeles bus system. In 1999, Rice launched a coalition lawsuit that won US$750 million for new school construction in Los Angeles - money previously slated for less crowded, more affluent suburban school districts. In these and other cases, Rice has led multi-racial coalitions of lawyers and clients to win more than US$4 billion of injunctive relief and damages.<3>

In her non-litigation work in the 1990s, Rice served as counsel to the Watts gang truce and spearheaded a statewide campaign to save equal opportunity programs. Mayors Tom Bradley and Richard Riordan appointed Rice to the governing board of Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power where she served as president and enacted contracting reforms and environmental advances. In 1998, Rice helped lead a successful campaign to place aggressive public school reformers on the governing board for Los Angeles’ public schools.<4>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Rice

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

24. Now that's a woman with a resume!

Wow!

[foxer]

20. Chelsea Clinton

[qwlauren35]

21. I'm Hoping for Caroline Kennedy

It's my understanding that she's published on the subject of Constitutional Law, and could be successfully vetted.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

22. Sonia Sotomayor (judge on the 2nd Circuit),

Cass Sunstein (Harvard grad, U of Chicago constiutional law prof),
Harold Koh (Yale U law dean),
Elena Kagan (Harvard U law dean)