Litigation

No ?Litmus Test? for Nominee, Obama Vows

By Peter Hardin

There will be no “litmus test” on abortion for his potential nominees to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens, President Obama said Wednesday. He also said it will be important to choose a nominee who will take into account “individual rights, and that includes women’s rights.”

“I think part of what our constitutional values promote is the notion that individuals have protection in their privacy, and their bodily integrity, and women are not exempt from that,” Obama told reporters before a meeting with Senate leaders to discuss the upcoming nomination, according to an Associated Press article.

The president said he plans to announce a decision by late May, the New York Times reported. Last year, he announced his selection of Justice Sonia Sotomayor for a Supreme Court vacancy on May 26. He already has talked with several potential nominees, according to the Washington Post.

Obama voiced confidence that we “can come up with a nominee who will gain the confidence of the Senate and the confidence of the country, and the confidence of individuals who look to the court to provide evenhanded justice to all Americans.”

To watch Obama’s remarks, click here for a C-Span video. You can learn more about the nomination process by checking out Gavel Grab or turning to Justice at Stake’s issues page on judicial nomination news.

A day earlier, Obama saluted the retiring Justice Stevens in a personal letter, which you can read at The Blog of Legal Times.

“With the thoughtfulness and humility of your questions from the bench, and the independence and wisdom you have brought to the judgments the Court has rendered, you have stood guardian of the Constitution and the rule of law and helped move this Nation towards that more perfect Union,” the president wrote.

Full post as published by The Gavel on April 21, 2010 (boomark / email).