Unconfirmed Report

[Tiger in Spain 0]

From Erick Erickson over at Red State.org

RedState is a respectable site, so I try to not flood it with unsubstantiated rumors (that is, rumors I hear from just one person), but I am passing this one on to you to add to the rumor mill. I have no relationship with the source; in fact, I got it about ten minutes ago, just as I was shutting down for the evening. But, having been flooded with emails lately, this one stands out -- maybe because it is late at night and I'm tired. So, take it with a grain of salt. Here is the email:

1. It is Joy [Clement].

2. WH will announce quickly, probably tomorrow.

3. Major players are on board.

4. Senate Dems are okay.

5. Specter is pleased. His staff is gearing up tonight.

6. Expect Dem groups to go nuts.

7. A handful of Dem Senators will play "mean" to pacify base. Bark will be worse than bite.

8. Joy is like O'Connor on business issues and we are comfortable that she is with us on upcoming life cases.

Edith Brown Clement

Edith Brown Clement (born in Birmingham, Alabama, April 29, 1948) is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She was nominated to this seat on September 4, 2001, by George W. Bush, was confirmed by the Senate on November 13, 2001, and received commission on November 26, 2001. With the resignation of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor from the United States Supreme Court, Judge Clement has been mentioned by some pundits as a potential Bush administration nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1948, Clement was educated at the University of Alabama, receiving her B.A. in 1969, and at Tulane Law School, where she received a J.D. in 1972. Her early career included a period clerking for Judge Herbert W. Christenberry at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ( 1973-1975 ), after which she worked in private practice in New Orleans, Louisiana until 1991.

On October 1, 1991 Clement was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana by George H.W. Bush. She was confirmed by the Senate to this post on November 21, 1991, and received commission on November 25, 1991. In 2001 she served as chief judge of this court, before being nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Judge Clement is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, the Federal Bar Association, the American Law Institute, the Federalist Society, the Tulane Law School's Inn of Court, and the Committee on the Administrative Office of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

wikipedia.com

Federalist Society

The Federalist Society began at the University of Chicago Law School and Yale Law School in 1982 as a student organization that challenged what it saw as the orthodox liberal ideology found in most law schools. In its Statement of Principles, the Society states that it is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of powers is central to the United States' constitutional form of government, and that the role of the judicial branch is to say what the law is, not what the law should be.

The Society currently has chapters at 145 law schools in the United States, including all of the top-20-ranked law schools, as well as a parent organization for conservatives and libertarians who are interested in the current state of the legal order, the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies

"Lawyers who know Clement or have tried cases before her describe her as a judicial conservative who leans toward the defense in civil cases, and as a no-nonsense judge who is strict about deadlines and insists on professionalism from lawyers." - Christopher Lee, Washington Post

Civil Rights and Liberties

For a unanimous panel, allowed a plaintiff who sued the police for violating his right to due process to proceed with his claim that the officers who arrested him used excessive force when they allegedly injured him by slamming the door of their car against his head. Reversed the district court's finding that the plaintiff could also sue for unlawful arrest and excessive force involving the use of handcuffs. (Tarver v. City of Edna, 2005)

Environmental Protection and Property Rights

Voted for the 5th Circuit to rehear a decision blocking developers from building on a site where six endangered bug species lived in a cluster of limestone caves. Clement joined a dissent that argued that the decision's rationale for protecting the bugs—to preserve the interdependent web of species—bore no relationship to Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce. (GDF Realty Investments v. Norton, 2004)

Criminal Law

For a unanimous panel, rejected the claim of a man flying to Nigeria that his luggage was unlawfully searched at the border. Clement ruled broadly that customs inspectors need not have probable cause to search the bags of people who are leaving the country. (U.S. v. Odutayo, 2005)

Agreed with a unanimous panel that an asylum applicant who was 20 minutes late to a hearing because he'd taken the wrong highway exit should not have been ordered deported in absentia and was entitled to a new hearing. (Alarcon-Chavez v. Gonzales, 2005)

Habeas Corpus

Over a dissent, ruled that a death-row inmate who claimed to be mentally retarded was entitled to a lawyer to develop that claim in a habeas petition. Clement's ruling followed the Supreme Court's 2002 decision barring the execution of the mentally retarded. She followed up with a second opinion that limited the significance of her ruling by stating "this is a fact-bound case." (Hearn v. Dretke, 2004)

For a unanimous panel, reversed a decision of the district court finding that a police officer convicted of civil rights violation, for hitting a drunk suspect in the head with his baton, was entitled to a new trial because his lawyer was ineffective. The officer argued that his lawyer erred by failing to call character witnesses to rebut testimony that he'd complained about the need to control Mexicans in the United States. Clement said the rebuttal evidence would have been irrelevant because the officer was not charged with a hate crime. (U.S. v. Harris, 2005)

Damage Awards

Over a partial dissent, in reviewing a jury verdict in favor of a man whose wife and 3-year-old daughter were killed in a car crash, affirmed damage awards of $1.9 million for the man's loss of his wife and $1.5 million for the loss of his daughter. Reduced from $200,000 to $30,000 an award to the wife's estate for her pain and mental anguish before her death and eliminated a $200,000 award to the daughter's estate for her pain and mental anguish. (Vogler v. Blackmore, 2003)

slate.msn.com

[Piglet 0]

Those cases, at least, look reasonably decided to me. If it's her, I probably won't be throwing a fit, anyhow.

Not too hard on the eyes, either.

[MDM4AU 332]

Bush To Reveal Supreme Court Nominee Tonight

POSTED: 9:25 am CDT July 19, 2005

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush has made his choice for the U.S. Supreme Court -- and he'll reveal it tonight.

A senior administration official says Bush will disclose the name of his nominee at 9 p.m. EDT.

Tuesday morning, Bush dodged a question on the subject -- and told reporters, "I'll let you know when I'm ready to tell you who it is."

Bush's spokesman wouldn't identify the president's choice, but there has been intense speculation that it will be federal appeals Judge Edith Clement.

More from this article and Bio Infoon Clement can be found here at NBC13.com

[Piglet 0]

Waitaminit...

educated at the University of Alabama

Filibuster! Filibuster! Filibuster!

[Tigermike 3,036]

Waitaminit...

educated at the University of Alabama

Filibuster! Filibuster! Filibuster!

169501[/snapback]

I have it on good authority that she was not nominated because she said up front that she would make the NCAA give Bama extra recruits for six years to make up for the probation.