New Hampshire Lawmakers Expect Smooth Confirmation
WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 – New Hampshire lawmakers are anticipating a thorough and smooth confirmation process for Harriet Miers, President Bush’s nominee to fill Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s seat on the Supreme Court.
“I look forward to closely reviewing the record and resume of the president’s nomination of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court,” Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said Tuesday in a press statement to the Sentinel. “The nomination hearings for now-Chief Justice Roberts went smoothly and did not fall to partisan politics, and I would expect that this nominee will be afforded the same civility and respect of a dignified, fair hearing.”
If confirmed, Miers, who is President Bush’s White House counsel and former personal attorney, would be the United States’ 110 th justice and the third woman to sit on the court. Beyond her work for Bush, Miers served for two years on the Dallas City Council, was the first woman to be head of the Texas Bar Association, and was a partner in the Texas law firm Locke Liddell & Sapp.
“Harriet Miers is a seasoned attorney with a demonstrated commitment to public service, and she has served the nation at the highest levels of government,” Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) said Tuesday in a statement for the Sentinel. “I look forward to reviewing her credentials and working with my colleagues to ensure that her nomination receives a thorough and fair review.”
Despite Miers’ previous experience as an attorney and leader of the Texas Bar Association, the fact that she has never been a judge has been noted. However, experience as a judge is not required and its lack is not unprecedented on the nation’s highest court.
“Thirty-five justices have served on the Supreme Court who did not have prior bench experience, including the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist,” Congressman Charles Bass (R-N.H.) said in a press release. “I am confident that the Senate will thoroughly review Harriet Miers’ credentials during the confirmation process.”
President Bush has asked the Senate for the confirmation process to start early enough for the vote to occur before their Thanksgiving recess.
####
