President George Bush is apparently close to making his first nomination to the Supreme Court, and speculation is centered on Judge Edith Clement of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
In 2001 the Senate unanimously confirmed her nonimation to the U.S. Appeals Court. Although she is reportedly known as a conservative and a strict constructionist, in legal circles she is said to confound conservatives and liberals alike. "To her benefit and detriment, she makes both conservatives and liberals uneasy because she has not written many notable opinions, especially in hot-button areas like abortion and religious freedom," write Bethany Broida and Lilly Henning for the Legal Times.
While Clement has virtually no record on abortion, a widely circulated AP report suggests that she "also has eased fears among abortion-rights advocates. She has stated that the Supreme Court �has clearly held that the right to privacy guaranteed by the Constitution includes the right to have an abortion' and that 'the law is settled in that regard.�"
Certainly every legal opinion and public statement she has made is under intense scrutiny and more information will be reported later today. Also, it is important to note that the White House has not said any decision has been made and even the often quoted anonymous sources qualify every statement about Clement with the fact that other names remain under consideration.
LifeNews reports
Edith Jones and Edith Brown Clement, both of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit are frequently mentioned as the top potential women for a Supreme Court nod. Jones is pro-life and has issued a decision condemning the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.In related posts, BlueStateConservative quotes an WSJ article,
"As President Bush contemplates his Supreme Court nominee, one fact to keep in mind is that seven of the nine current Justices were appointed by Republican Presidents. If you want to understand why many of Mr. Bush's supporters are worried that he might nominate Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, this is the reason."LTI Blog writes,
Put simply, on nearly every issue of moral importance, the Court has coopted the legislative process and stripped the electorate of its voice.Freedom of reports,[snip]
On abortion, for example, liberals love to assert that the federal government should not get involved in private decisions. I have no idea what they mean by this. Fact is, liberals have done a very good job making sure that one branch of the federal government, the courts, have exclusive authority to first invent, then broadly apply, abortion policy.
A group called Operation Outcry represents women who have been hurt by the abortion procedure. They have filed affidavits and filed them with the Supreme Court in an effort to have the infamous Roe v Wade reheard in court
