Obama may name Supreme Court pick next month
President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he will announce a nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens by next month and that he'll seek a candidate who values individual rights and privacy when ruling on cases.
Obama said he's confident the nomination will go through the Senate confirmation process in time to have Stevens' successor in place when the court begins its next term in October.
The president, repeating the stand of his predecessors, said he won't have any "litmus tests" on abortion rights.
"But I will say that I want somebody who is going to be interpreting our Constitution in a way that takes into account individual rights, and that includes women's rights," he said. "That's going to be something that's very important to me."
Obama discussed the high court vacancy at the White House yesterday with Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Democrat who heads the Judiciary Committee, and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the senior Republican on the panel. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also attended the Oval Office meeting. They will be at the forefront of the confirmation process.
Reid said afterward that "there was a really good tone set" during the session.
He and Leahy said they have suggested names for potential justices to the president while declining to name anyone publicly. They said no individuals were discussed in the meeting.
Stevens, 90, announced April 9 that he will retire at the end of the court's term this summer. The president already has begun talking with and vetting potential nominees for the high court, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday.
Obama said whoever replaces Stevens will have "some tough shoes to fill."
The Supreme Court term begins on the first Monday in October. Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to succeed Justice David Souter on May 26 last year and she was confirmed Aug. 6.
"We are certainly going to meet that deadline" and may accelerate it "a little bit" to give the Senate more time, Obama said.
Sotomayor had a "smooth, civil, thoughtful nomination and confirmation process," Obama said, and he hopes for the "exact same thing this time."
It's Your Business! This month's roundup including how to protect yourself from digital scams Join NewsdayTV as we recount the top business stories on LI that you need to know about.
It's Your Business! This month's roundup including how to protect yourself from digital scams Join NewsdayTV as we recount the top business stories on LI that you need to know about.
