The Washington Monthly

May 20, 2009

DIANE WOOD'S TRAVEL PLANS.... We haven't had any good scuttlebutt on possible Supreme Court nominees in a while. In fact, as searches go, this one has been pretty quiet and seen few, if any, leaks.

It's what made this report from ABC's Jan Crawford Greenburg pretty interesting.

Federal Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood, one of the leading contenders to replace David Souter, is in Washington today. The highly regarded Wood is here, ostensibly, to attend a legal conference at Georgetown. But the timing is curious, and here's why.
According to a student, she didn't teach her first-year civil procedure class at the University of Chicago Law School yesterday afternoon and provided no advance notice or explanation. That's apparently because she was flying to DC -- to attend the long-scheduled judicial conference, even though she is not on the program as a panelist or participant. [...]

[Wood] is among the top three prospects Obama is considering, along with Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Solicitor General Elena Kagan, sources tell me.... [O]f the three, Wood comes closest to meeting the criteria he has laid out in a justice. She could be his home run pick: She brings the intellectual heft and collegiality that would command respect on the Supreme Court, along with the life experiences that Obama has indicated he wants in his nominee. What's more, Obama knows her. They both taught at the University of Chicago Law School.

The Washington Post added that President Obama has "already sat down with" Wood, as part of the review of Supreme Court candidates.

For more on Wood and what she'd bring to the high court, Jeffrey Rosen has a good piece on her today.

—Steve Benen 1:50 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (8)

Comments

Wait - is that the same Jeffrey Rosen who recently (and baselessly) trashed Judge Sotomayor?

Why should I read him about Judge Wood, even if he's got nice things to say this time?

Posted by: low-tech cyclist on May 20, 2009 at 1:58 PM | PERMALINK

I agree with low-tech cyclist. No point in reading Rosen; he lost all credibility as a fair journalist with that hit job.

Posted by: Bonnie on May 20, 2009 at 2:10 PM | PERMALINK

Jeffrey Rosen's reporting reminds me of Dirty Harry, in The Dead Pool. "Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one."

Jan Crawford Greenburg has been a long time reporter on The Supremes, with several books on the subject. I can't recall her voicing an opinion. . .

Posted by: DAY on May 20, 2009 at 2:21 PM | PERMALINK

"[Wood] is among the top three prospects Obama is considering, along with Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Solicitor General Elena Kagan, sources tell me."

Doesn't matter whether Rosen is right or not or whether any of the three short list persons is qualified. They're all female, i.e. affirmative action candidates to the detriment of white males. So, we're gonna see a fight.

Social conservative lobby groupes will grab any opportunity for confrontation they can lay their hand on to earn brownie points with the base.

Posted by: SRW1 on May 20, 2009 at 2:38 PM | PERMALINK

Social conservative lobbies didn't have any problem with the last female appointee to do man's work on the SC. Harriet Miers was not only spectacularly unqualified, she engaged in illegal activity involving the Justice Department, and was a sophomoric twit to boot.

Posted by: caliban on May 20, 2009 at 3:03 PM | PERMALINK

Caliban,

are you saying that social conservative lobbies are known to apply a intellectually consistent standard?

Posted by: SRW1 on May 20, 2009 at 4:11 PM | PERMALINK

Gov. Granholm was at the White House yesterday. And most commentators in Michigan are pretty sure it wasn't for the fuel efficiency show.

Posted by: Harris on May 20, 2009 at 5:07 PM | PERMALINK

i agree about with your post

Posted by: ega on May 20, 2009 at 6:27 PM | PERMALINK

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