O'Connor resigns--frenzy to follow

I have to admit I did not see this one coming. I did not expect any Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to resign for at least two more years. O'Connor's resignation causes me great concern.

I have long respected and admired Justice O'Connor, particularly as she developed into one of the major swing votes on the Court. The only real criticism I have of her is her role in the heinous Bush v. Gore decision. At least her last opinion was a good one to go out on. She wrote the dissent in the recent case which gives municipalities the right to take private property for economic development purposes. That decision warrants a separate post, but for now suffice it to say that in my opinion, Bush v. Gore is the only decision in my lifetime that is worse.

My view of the U.S. Supreme Court as an institution is that it should not be dominated by one group. There must be a balance of some sort. For instance, three conservatives, three liberals, and three that are somewhere in the middle constitutes a balance. O'Connor became one of the voices in the middle, and what concerns me--and scares me--is that Bush has no interest in appointing someone in the middle. He is not at all interested in maintining any kind of balance. He wants someone who will carry out the winger agenda, and that is a bad thing. See, if Scalia had resigned, I would not have a problem with Bush appointing someone like Scalia. As much as I dislike him as a judge (and boy, do I ever), Scalia nonetheless fulfills an important role on the Court as a balance to the sure enough liberals. Thus, I would like to see O'Connor replaced by someone closer to the center, but I have little hope Bush will do that.

I said in The Senate should reject Priscilla Owen that

I guarantee that if Owen gets confirmed to the Fifth Circuit, and a place on the Supreme Court opens up while Bush is still in office, Priscilla Owen will be nominated for that position (unless Rehnquist retires, in which case Scalia will precede Owen).

The timing of O'Connor's resignation could render the above opinion incorrect. It seems inconceivable that Bush would appoint Owen to the Supremes before she has served on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, but it could happen. She is exactly what Bush wants on the Supreme Court.

Today's Washington Post has profiles on some of O'Connor's possible successors. I will write a separate post of analysis on those persons, but for now I note that three of them are from Texas, and that gives them a big edge. Two of them are Hispanic, which gives them a further edge. Owen is not mentioned, but she is still a possibility...

And this does not even address all the political mayhem that is to come--filibusters, nuclear option, etc. This is going to get ugly, but we will see once and for all if the Democrats as a party have any cajones.