« Law - More on: An incredible resource coming Wednesday via C-SPAN | Main | Ind. Decisions - 7th Circuit decides issue of first impression re the meaning of the word “defendant” in §1453(b) »
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Courts - 7th Circuit Judge could be Supreme Court contender
Again, as Judge Diane Wood was a strong contender for the opening last year.
Today Joan Biskupic reports in USA TODAY:
WASHINGTON — She was introduced Tuesday as a woman who could be the next Supreme Court justice "if the stars align" and liberals prevail.Then in a wide-ranging yet restrained talk hosted by the left-leaning American Constitution Society, Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood, whom President Obama interviewed for last year's Supreme Court opening, shared her experiences with law.
In response to a question, Wood recalled the 1990s, when she was one of two women on the 11-member, Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. She said some lawyers had "a little trouble" with their being on the bench, and she referred to an attorney in a pregnancy-bias case who minimized pregnancy. "After all," she recalled him saying, after the baby is delivered, a woman returns to "her usual slim self."
Wood said she admonished the lawyer that she, the mother of three, probably knew more about pregnancy than he did and told him, "There's a little more to it than that."
Wood, Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano would be top contenders for a Supreme Court vacancy, based on their backgrounds and the fact that Obama interviewed them before choosing Sonia Sotomayor last year for his first Supreme Court opening. * * *
Runners-up often lead the short list for a new vacancy, as seen in the practices of both Democratic and Republican White Houses.
Only two of the nine justices are women, so the White House might continue to focus on female candidates.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 24, 2010 10:37 AM
Posted to Courts in general