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steven
October 3rd, 2005, 04:42 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court on Monday, turning to a lawyer who has never been a judge to replace Sandra Day O'Connor and help reshape the nation's judiciary. "She has devoted her life to the rule of law and the cause of justice," Bush said as his first Supreme Court pick, Chief Justice John Roberts, took the bench for the first time just a few blocks from the White House.

"The president has selected a loyal political ally without a judicial record to sit on the highest court in the land," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.

At the same time, Republican strategists who spoke on condition of anonymity said they would have to work hard to assure the support of some of the more conservative Republicans in the Senate, particularly on the issue of abortion. All 55 GOP senators voted to confirm Roberts.

Little is known publicly about Miers' position on abortion, an issue of surpassing importance to outside groups on both ends of the political spectrum.

Whatever her credentials for the high court, Miers' loyalty to Bush - who once called her a pit bull in size 6 shoes - is above question. When he first decided to run for governor in the early 1990s, he hired Miers to comb his background for anything derogatory that opponents might try to use to defeat him.

As an attorney in Dallas, Miers became president in 1996 of Locke Purnell, Rain & Harrell a firm with more than 200 lawyers where she worked starting in 1972. After it merged a few years later, she became co-manager of Locke Liddell & Sapp.

When Bush was governor of Texas, she represented him in a case involving a fishing house. In 1995, he appointed her to a six-year term on the Texas Lottery Commission. She also served as a member-at-large on the Dallas City Council and in 1992 became the first woman president of the Texas State Bar.

Full story
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH_SCOTUS?SITE=NYBUE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-10-03-15-05-28

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Can any of you legal types tell me if this has ever been done before?

It doesnt seem right to me.

:confused:

Jim Ostrowski
October 3rd, 2005, 05:53 PM
You don't have to be a judge first. A good lawyer can do it easily. This is particularly true of appellate work.

I thought I heard that 39 non-judges have been appointed before.

steven
October 4th, 2005, 01:32 AM
Originally posted by Jim Ostrowski
You don't have to be a judge first. A good lawyer can do it easily. This is particularly true of appellate work.

I thought I heard that 39 non-judges have been appointed before.

wow I never would have guessed that in my wildest dreams, thanks for the info