Melanie Kirkpatrick writing in the WSJ has a list of suggested Supreme Court nominees. FWIW, my hands-down favorite on the list is Judge Edith Jones, who is not otherwise mentioned in the article. I hope the fact that Judge Jones has ideas and is not afraid to express them is not completely disqualifying.
PS: A very helpful post by Houston's Clear Thinkers on Judge Jones.
PPS: Notes on a recent speech by Judge Jones.
Update: The O'Connor retirement creates an opening for a possible Jones nomination, as discussed here.
This is the same Edith Jones who ruled against a defendant who appealed on grounds of ineffectiveness of counsel because his attorney slept through large parts of the trial.
Bob Herbert in the NYT: "Judge Jones and Judge Barksdale said it was impossible to determine just when Cannon was sleeping. Thus, there was no way to know whether anything prejudicial to his client occurred while Cannon slept. The opinion said: "In sum, on this record, we cannot determine whether Cannon slept during a 'critical stage' of Burdine's trial.""
A judge who rules so is unfit to serve on the highest court of the land.
Posted by: Stephen Gould | July 01, 2005 at 09:45 AM