The speculation on who will replace Justice John Paul Stevens was going on long before he sent his resignation letter to President Obama Friday. In fact, the topic of Obama\u2019s second high court nomination came up during the battle over his first.<\/p>\n
“It wouldn’t at all surprise me if some of the very same people were back in the Oval Office,\u201d White House Chief of Staff David Axelrod said when asked about the next Supreme Court nomination while Sonia Sotomayor\u2019s nomination was still pending before the Senate.<\/p>\n
Those same people would include federal appellate court judge Diane Wood, Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. In recent months most attention has been focused on Wood and Kagan.<\/p>\n
Wood is well known in legal circles for her strong opinions on the Chicago-based Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. She was also part of the faculty at Chicago Law School when Obama taught Constitutional law. She is also very familiar to Stevens who is responsible for overseeing the Seventh Circuit and is a Chicago native. Though that connection would unlikely be a decisive factor into her selection.<\/p>\n
Kagan is the former dean of the Harvard Law School and is well-regarded for her performance there in controlling a fractious faculty and reaching out to conservatives. She has already successfully navigated through the Senate Confirmation process to become Solicitor General. Kagan is also something of an unknown entity because she has never been a judge and as a result has a thin paper trail of past positions.<\/p>\n
Of course, the president is free to select anyone he wants and speculation will likely run rampant in the weeks to come. Here is how we assess the possible selections:<\/p>\n
TIER ONE:<\/p>\n
Diane Wood, Judge Seventh Circuit<\/p>\n
Elena Kagan, Solicitor General<\/p>\n
TIER TWO:<\/p>\n
Merrick Garland, Judge DC Circuit COA<\/p>\n
Leah Ward Sears, Former Chief Justice of Georgia Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Kathleen Sullivan, Professor and former dean of Stanford Law School<\/p>\n
Cass Sunstein, Former Chicago & Harvard Law Professor, leads Obama Administration’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.<\/p>\n
Pam Karlan, Stanford Law professor<\/p>\n
Janet Napolitano, Secy DHS<\/p>\n
Jennifer Granholm, Michigan Governor<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
TIER THREE:<\/p>\n
Rosemary Barkett, Judge 11th Circuit<\/p>\n
Fortunato Benavides, Judge 5th Circuit<\/p>\n
Christine Arguello, U.S. District Court Judge Denver<\/p>\n
Ruben Castillo, Judge USDC Northern District of Illinois<\/p>\n
Karen Nelson Moore, Judge 6th Circuit<\/p>\n
Jose Cabranes, Judge 2nd Circuit<\/p>\n
David Tatel, Judge DC Circuit COA<\/p>\n
Deval Patrick, Massachusetts Governor<\/p>\n
Marsha Berzon, Judge 9th Circuit<\/p>\n
Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General<\/p>\n
Charles Ogletree, Law Professor Harvard Law School<\/p>\n
Kim Wardlaw, Judge Ninth Circuit<\/p>\n
Seth Waxman, Former Solicitor General. Lawyer at Wilmer Hale<\/p>\n
Harold Koh, Former Dean Yale Law School–Counsel to State Dept.<\/p>\n
Ken Salazar, Interior Secretary<\/p>\n
OBAMA’S COURT OF APPEALS NOMINEES<\/p>\n
Judge David Hamilton, 6th Circuit<\/p>\n
Judge Andre Davis, 4th Circuit<\/p>\n
Judge Gerard Lynch, 2nd Circuit<\/p>\n
Judge Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr., 3rd Circuit<\/p>\n
Judge Beverly B. Martin, 11th Circuit<\/p>\n
Jane Branstetter Stranch, 6th Circuit<\/p>\n
Judge Thomas Vanaskie, 3rd Circuit<\/p>\n
Justice Barbara Milano Keenan, 4th Circuit<\/p>\n
Judge Danny Chin, 2nd Circuit<\/p>\n
Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, 1st Circuit<\/p>\n
Judge Albert Diaz, 4th Circuit<\/p>\n
Judge James Wynn, 4th Circuit<\/p>\n
Goodwin Liu: 9th Circuit<\/p>\n
Judge Robert N. Chatigny<\/p>\n
Scott M. Matheson, Jr., 10th Circuit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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