Sotomayor Is The Perfect Choice

HOPEFULLY SHE'S PAID HER TAXES (FINGERS CROSSED)
It just has to be 2nd Circuit Appellate Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Not only would she be the second woman on the court, but the first Hispanic in U.S. history. If you believe the Latino vote swung the last election towards President Obama (I don't), then this milestone would be a significant thank you.

Sotomayor, who is known as the judge who ended the ruinous 1994 Major League Baseball strike, is quite attractive other than demography. If Obama is hoping for uncontentious confirmation hearings, the 54-year-old Puerto Rican might placate Republicans. She is fairly moderate and was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to the U.S. District Court in New York.

Of course, these things look easy on paper. If chosen by Obama, Sotomayor's entire life will be examined. Every single piece of writing from college term papers to her decision on the second circuit will be examined for clues to her "real" judicial compass while hoping she does not share a peculiarly common trait amongst Obama nominees of not paying her taxes.

Salon lays down the skinny on other possible selections in an article posted shortly after election day that includes the other possible woman, Elena Kagan. The Daily Kos also has a quick thumbnail on Sotomayor.

Souter Leaves The Court

JUSTICE IS RETURNING TO HIS NEW HAMPSHIRE FARM
Innocently enough, the Supreme Court press corps simply put two and two together. Justice David Souter was the only jurist not to have hired law clerks for the court's next session. The Associated Press story speculating on its meaning seemed harmless enough. Souter has been known to the last to select from the nation's top law grads and is notoriously an odd duck in D.C. circles. Harmless, right? Apparently not.

It is the culture of the Supreme Court to operate within riddles--a bit of intellectual playfulness, yet this one was too simple to crack. The 69-year-old thumb in the eye to conservatives across the country will be President Obama's first attempt at molding the court.

It is true the judge President George H.W. Bush appointed to the court only to later realize he was something of a closet lefty will not change the make up of the Supreme Court other than restart the clock on another liberal member. It will show just how much the president's popularity will translate in an always testy confirmation process.

In the last three days, conservatives have clearly witnessed the destruction due to eight years of George W. Bush. Long-time Republican Arlen Specter left the party citing the difficulty of moderates to win under the GOP brand and now the power of Obama's victory last November has grown lasting fruit--a fresh choice on the court.

Who will be the next Supreme Court justice. Let the rumor mill gain full speed....and.....it should begin with Sonia Sotomayor.