Opening On The SCOTUS; Arianna Compiles Short List

Famous Greek blogger/beard, Arianna Huffington, has decided to do President Unicorn a favor by compiling a short list of replacements for Justice David Souter, who announced his retirement today.

Lets take a look at who her top prospects are:

Sonia Sotomayor: An Hispanic with 16 years of court experience who currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, Sotomayor is a graduate of Yale Law and considered a legal liberal. She also shares a biographical footnote with Souter: they both were appointed by George H. W. Bush -- Sotomayor to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1992.

Elena Kagan: The first woman to serve in the post of Solicitor General, she arrived at the Department of Justice from her post as Dean of the Harvard Law School. She served as Associate Counsel to President Bill Clinton and as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Should Obama choose her, it would mean his White House would have to fill another vacancy. But her academic and judicial pedigree seem almost better suited for the Court than as a lawyer arguing before it. Plus, she's already been through the confirmation process.

Seth Waxman: The 41st Solicitor General of the United States, Waxmnan is 58-years old and a graduate of Yale Law School. Perhaps his greatest claim to legal fame was arguing Boumediene v. Bush before the Supreme Court, which upheld habeas corpus rights for detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Diane Wood: Wood, a 58-year-old Chicagoan, has served for 14 years on the city's 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. She has made a reputation as a strong liberal voice on an otherwise conservative bench and her name was decidedly in the mix when speculation first arose that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would retire due to medical issues. The one downside: her position on abortion rights has already sparked the ire of conservatives and pro-life groups, portending a potentially contentious confirmation process.

Harold Koh: The Dean of Yale Law School, Koh is perhaps the highest-profile Asian-American legal mind in the country. He clerked for Associate Justice Harry Blackmun on the Supreme Court, and worked for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Reagan Justice Department. But if Obama wants a smooth confirmation battle, Koh might not be the pick. Nominated to be the State Department's legal adviser, he has attacked by conservatives who claimed that he values foreign law over the U.S. Constitution.

Dark horses: Some names offered by legal observers who have followed Supreme Court politics a bit more closely:

Teresa Wynn Roseborough: A legal scholar, in an email to the Huffington Post, described the Clinton-era Deputy Assistant Attorney General as such: "She's late 40s, super smart and kind, decent, moderate; and was Editor in Chief of UNC law review. She clerked on the 4th Circuit and for Justice Stevens; worked in Department of Justice, was a partner at a private Atlanta firm; and now at a private counsel for MetLife. And, she's African-American. A perfect choice. Unimpeachable and perfect."

Leah Ward Sears: Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.

Kathleen Sullivan: Former Dean of Stanford Law and a protege of Harvard's famed professor, Laurence Tribe.

William Fletcher: A U.S. federal appeals court judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (the same circuit as one Jay Bybee, who will definitely not be an Obama Supreme Court nominee).


We couldn't help but be reminded of the above skit from Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.