Federal Judiciary

New names to consider for Justice Stevens' seat

A federal judge from Montana and the dean of Harvard's law school are among several names being added to the short list of potential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court, a government source said.
Sidney Thomas, a 14-year veteran on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, is being vetted by the White House, said the source, who has been regularly consulted in the selection process.
Two women who were not on other published lists of potential candidates are now being seriously considered.
Harvard Law school dean Martha Minow has been on the school's faculty since 1981. And Elizabeth Warren heads the Congressional Oversight Panel, which reviews government efforts to boost the shaky financial and private investment sector. Neither woman has judicial experience.
Sources close to the selection process said the new names represent an effort to expand what had been a short list of candidates, many of them left over after last year's court vacancy was filled by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

I think Martha Minow would be fantastic. She was my law school advisor so I got to know her a little bit: she's smart, compassionate, and hard-working.

Full post as published by Southern District of Florida on April 13, 2010 (boomark / email).