« on: January 07, 2017, 02:17:50 am »
Handicapping Donald Trump’s Supreme Court Shortlist
By David Lat
Jan 6, 2017 at 6:36 PM More than a month has passed since President-elect Donald Trump told us to expect a Supreme Court nomination “pretty soon.” But even if a SCOTUS nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia gets announced forthwith, it’s unlikely that this new justice will join the Court in time to participate in any decisions for the current Term.[1]
So that’s the “when” of this story. What about the “who”? In case you missed it over the holidays, Jan Crawford of CBS News, one of the most plugged-in Supreme Court reporters around, revealed Trump’s five finalists (in alphabetical order, and with thanks to How Appealing; full transcript of the discussion here):
•Judge Steven Colloton (8th Cir.) of Iowa
•Judge Thomas Hardiman (3d Cir.) of Pennsylvania
•Justice Joan Larsen of Michigan
•Judge William Pryor (11th Cir.) of Alabama
•Judge Diane Sykes (7th Cir.) of Wisconsin
It’s interesting to note that these five judges all appeared on Trump’s first SCOTUS list of 11 names, suggesting that his supplemental list of 10 names might represent something of a second tier. But the legal and journalism professions must thank the Donald for his not-so-short “shortlist” of 21. It made the SCOTUS process closer to a reality TV show, with more than a dozen competitors to start, and more fun than a traditional presidential process with maybe four to six contenders.
Of the finalists, who has the edge? My money is on Judge Pryor and Judge Sykes, for a few reasons:
1. They’ve been on Trump’s radar screen for a long time. During the Republican presidential debate that took place right after Justice Scalia’s passing, Trump called them out by name: “We could have a Diane Sykes or a Bill Pryor.”
2. The buzz is on their side. When I attended the National Lawyers Convention of the Federalist Society back in November, where numerous Republican power brokers (and many Trump shortlisters) made appearances, the SCOTUS talk centered on Pryor and Sykes, and continued to focus on them into December.
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http://abovethelaw.com/2017/01/handicapping-donald-trumps-supreme-court-shortlist/?rf=1
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