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What Does Miers' Withdrawal Mean for Future Nominees?

The National Law Journal
October 31, 2005

The failed Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers was, in the words of one legal scholar, the perfect storm: the convergence of a bad nomination, a weakened president and an infuriated political base. A president's withdrawal of a Supreme Court nomination is an "extraordinary act," notes one professor. And now scholars and others are wondering how the judicial confirmation process itself will weather this particular storm.

Miers Drops Bid for High Court; Who's Up Next?

Legal Times
October 28, 2005

When Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to the Supreme Court, she put an end to weeks of scathing criticism over her qualifications. The identity of the next high court nominee will depend greatly on two factors: how big a fight President Bush wants to provoke with Senate Democrats and how much he will feel obligated to listen to his far right supporters, who desperately want a nominee with impeccably conservative judicial credentials.

Texas Fold 'Em: Texas Supporters' Efforts Don't Pay Off for Miers

Texas Lawyer
October 28, 2005

Dozens of Texas lawyers and judges expended personal and political capital in recent weeks combating attacks against Harriet Miers' nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Their efforts failed. Former Texas Supreme Court Supreme Court Justice Craig Enoch is among those surprised at the turn of events, especially in light of his trip to D.C. with other former justices. "I thought they just needed us to get inside the Beltway and talk about her qualifications, which we handled pretty well," says Enoch.

Analysis: Miers' Withdrawal Highlights Weakness in Bush Presidency

The Associated Press
October 27, 2005

Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers' sudden withdrawal underscores the strength of the social conservatives who form President Bush's political base and the weakness of a president buffeted by one political misfortune after another. As Bush heads into what may be the darkest days of his presidency, the withdrawal gives him an opportunity to regain the support of a rebellious bloc. "Although it became a public fight, it was still a family fight," said GOP consultant Greg Mueller.

Miers Supreme Court Nomination Withdrawn

The Associated Press
October 27, 2005

Under withering attack from conservatives, President Bush ended his push to put loyalist Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court Thursday and promised a quick replacement. The White House said Miers had withdrawn her name because of a bipartisan effort in Congress to gain access to internal documents related to her role as counsel to the president. But politics played a larger role: Bush's conservative backers had doubts about her ideological purity, and Democrats had little incentive to help the nominee or the embattled GOP president.

Miers Told She'll Be Questioned About Bush's Guantanamo Policy

The Associated Press
October 27, 2005

Injecting new uncertainty into a Supreme Court nomination already in doubt, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said Wednesday he will question Harriet Miers about the Bush administration's policy of detaining terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay. Specter also said he would ask what assurances Miers could offer that she would be independent, if confirmed, "and not give President Bush any special deference on any matter involving him that might come before the Court."

Conservative Group Debuts Anti-Miers TV Ad as Nominee Prepares New Answers

The Associated Press
October 26, 2005

In a sign of the ongoing battle over Harriet Miers' Supreme Court chances, a conservative group opposing Miers announced plans Tuesday to broadcast a TV ad calling for President Bush to withdraw her nomination. Miers is expected to give answers today to a second questionnaire crafted by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Several senators on the committee have criticized Miers' responses to the first questionnaire as vague and incomplete.

Miers Nomination Will Test Relevance of ABA Ratings

The National Law Journal
October 25, 2005

In the raging debate over White House counsel Harriet Miers' qualifications to sit on the Supreme Court, the American Bar Association's upcoming rating of those qualifications looms large. For the ABA's effort to overcome allegations of bias in its ratings, the Miers assessment may be a lose-lose situation. If Miers is rated well-qualified, the bar group will be derided by conservative critics. If she is rated not qualified or less-than-unanimously qualified, the wrath will come from the White House.

Bush Won't Release Certain Records of Talks With Miers

The Associated Press
October 25, 2005

President Bush said Monday that he will not release any records of his conversations with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers that could threaten the confidentiality of the advice that presidents get from their lawyers. "It's a red line I'm not willing to cross," the president said. Both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding more documents on Miers, including from her work as Bush's counsel.

Despite Naysayers, Miers Will Keep Visiting Senators

The Associated Press
October 24, 2005

Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers will continue meeting with senators, the White House said Friday, despite calls from some conservatives who said the courtesy visits aren't helping and she should focus instead on preparing for her confirmation hearing scheduled for Nov. 7. Miers has faced attacks from both sides of the political spectrum, most notably from the president's conservative allies, though none of the Senate's majority Republicans has come out against her.

Miers' Nomination May Be a Mixed Blessing for Locke Liddell

Texas Lawyer
October 24, 2005

Whatever the outcome of Harriet Miers' Supreme Court nomination, life at Locke Liddell & Sapp, the Texas firm where she was a partner, will never be the same. Since President Bush tapped Miers for the Court, the firm has become the focus of national attention, a situation that raises its profile and presumably will bring new business. But the public hunt for any tidbit of information about Miers and the firm where she practiced for most of her career also brings attention to past problems at Locke Liddell.

Miers Nomination Timeline
The timeline will feature stories through all stages of the nomination process.

 

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