Enlarge imageBy James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist has created a rare double opening on the U.S. Supreme Court, giving President George W. Bush the chance to reshape the court and move it to the right.
The choice by Bush, who has already selected conservative appeals court Judge John Roberts to replace the more moderate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who is retiring, could have far-reaching impact on constitutional issues for years.
The court has been closely divided between liberal and conservative factions on hot-button issues such as abortion, the death penalty and church-state separation, and the impact of the new justices could be felt immediately.
Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights said the second vacancy "could radically shift the delicate balance" of the court and added, "Nothing less than our individual rights, liberties and freedoms are at stake."
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In its new term that opens on October 3, the court already has on its docket a number of high profile cases, including one on Oregon’s assisted suicide law and one about a parental notification law for minors seeking an abortion.
The last time there were two openings on the nine-member high court, whose members have lifetime tenure and have the final word in deciding constitutional questions, was in 1971. The nominations must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Ralph Neas of the liberal lobbying group People for the American Way said, "The nation will be shaped for decades by decisions that are made by U.S. President George W. Bush and the Senate about the future of the Supreme Court."
"While the long-term consequences of two new justices will be monumental, filling the vacancies on the Supreme Court is not an emergency requiring hasty action," he added.
MANY POSSIBILITIES
The selection of a replacement for Rehnquist, who died on Saturday after a battle with thyroid cancer, comes at a time when Bush has been preoccupied with the recovery effort for Hurricane Katrina and overcoming criticism that the federal government initially moved too slowly.
Bush could decide to tap Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a close aide from the days when Bush was governor of Texas in the late 1990s. If he chose Gonzales, Bush would make history by naming the first Hispanic-American to the court.
But some of Bush’s conservative supporters have opposed Gonzales because of positions he has taken on abortion and on affirmative action programs to help minorities overcome past discrimination.
Bush also could appoint one of the federal appeals court judges who had been under consideration for the vacancy created by O’Connor’s retirement, including some serving on the appeals court in New Orleans, the city devastated by the hurricane.
Others could include judges Michael McConnell, J. Michael Luttig and J. Harvie Wilkinson. Bush interviewed Wilkinson before he nominated Roberts to replace O’Connor.
C. Boyden Grey, the White House counsel in the first Bush administration and the chairman of the conservative group the Committee for Justice, described the type of nominee the president needs to pick to replace Rehnquist.
"The nominee will need to be a principled constitutionalist, tireless worker, and of immense personal integrity. We are confidant the White House will pick an outstanding jurist," he said.
Washington lawyer Tom Goldstein, who follows the Supreme Court and who has his own Web blog on the court, said though some senators had raised the prospect of O’Connor remaining on the court, that was exceedingly unlikely.
"Because the president will want to name a successor for the chief soon, rather than waiting until next summer when the court’s term ends, it makes little sense for Justice O’Connor to remain," he said.
With O’Connor and Rehnquist, the court had been together for 11 years, the longest period of stability since 1823.
Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas generally made up the court’s conservative wing. O’Connor and Justice Anthony Kennedy, two more moderate conservatives, often controlled the outcome.
The court’s more liberal members are Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, the last justice to join the court in 1994.
