Bush Chooses White House Counsel Harriet Miers as O'Connor Replacement on Supreme Court
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 10/3/2005
President Bush named White House Counsel Harriet Miers Monday to replace retiring Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor.Once President Bush's personal lawyer in Texas, Miers has never served as a judge. She was appointed White House counsel in 2004.
The announcement came just before the Supreme Court was to start a new term with a new chief justice, John Roberts, who was confirmed last week by the Senate.
Roberts had originally been named to succeed O'Connor, but upon the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Bush elevated his nomination to chief.
President Ronald Reagan nominated O'Connor in 1981 to be the first woman on the Court. While the O'Connor nomination generated criticism from both the political left and right, during her time on the Court she proved to be a pivotal swing vote in decisions affecting civil rights, environmental protection, personal privacy, voting rights, protection against discrimination, and more.
Civil rights organizations have identified a number of 5-4 decisions in danger of being overturned if O'Connor is replaced by someone who is not a mainstream nominee, including Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) (affirmative action); Tennessee v. Lane (2004) (rights of individuals with disabilities); Zadvydas v. Davis (2001) (human rights/due process) and Jackson v. Birmingham Bd. of Educ. (2005) (Title IX).
