Williams
Fourth Circuit Judge Karen Williams was apparently not one of the potential nominees who withdrew her name from the reckoning before Miers was chosen. Who is Williams?
1. She’s 54 years old, and would probably have stayed on the SCOTUS for the next 25 years.
2. She’s been a conservative judge, on the most conservative appeals court in the land, for about 13 years.
3. Williams wrote an opinion overruling the Miranda warning!
4. She has no public opinion on abortion.
5. She had the full backing of Gang of 14 member Lindsey Graham. Without the Gang of 14, Democrats cannot filibuster a nominee.
Williams would have made a perfect choice, given her obvious strict constructionist philosophy. Unlike JRB or Owen, Senate Democrats would have been hard-pressed to filibuster her. And, unlike Miers, there would have been no question about her qualifications or philosophy. No wonder the betting boards were going nuts over Williams in the days before the president announced his nominee.
Given all this, the president’s choice of Miers seems as depressing as it was the day we heard about it.
Subscribe to blog feed.