Within the next few days, President Obama will be selecting a Supreme Court Justice to replace retiring Justice David Souter.
He has emphasized the need for a Justice with "empathy" and "real life experiences", and that makes me wonder if he is leaning against selection of a sitting judge. It has been a long time since a non-judge has been picked for the Court, and there is strong reason to pick a person who has dealt with the world outside a court room to add diversity and a different perspective to the Supreme Court.
That is what makes me think that an excellent choice would be Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, who was elected Attorney General in 1998, and twice has been elected Governor of her state. With excellent education at the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Law School, and with her experiences governing a state which has had major economic problems throughout this decade, I think Granholm is the perfect person to pick for the Court.Â
Of course, some would say that she has presided over the Michigan economic disaster brought about by the collapse of the domestic auto industry, but that cannot realistically be said to be caused by her policies, but simply by circumstance. She has been a strong advocate of her state’s interests in difficult times but cannot be expected to solve the problems all by herself. She also has the advantage of being only 50 years of age this year, allowing for the possibility of a long career on the Court.
It can also be said that being a white woman of Canadian birth does not satisfy the issue of putting an Hispanic or black woman on the court, but remember that there will be probably two more opportunities for Obama to go in those directions when Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and John Paul Stevens retire in the next few years, which is certainly likely based on age alone.
So let’s see whether my projection of Governor Granholm as the next Supreme Court Justice pans out! 🙂