Dodd and Lieberman React to Miers’ Nomination
By Mandy Kozar
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5-Connecticut Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman say they have a lot to learn about President Bush’s Supreme Court nominee, White House counsel Harriet Miers.
Lieberman said Monday, “Before this morning I knew nothing about Harriet Miers except her name and title.”
Nominated to fill the vacancy that will be left by retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Miers, 60, has never been a judge and, until Monday, had received very little publicity.
“I am going to be interested in further exploration of her qualities and qualifications,” Dodd said in an interview Wednesday.
Although she may be a nice person and a talented lawyer, Dodd said, these are “not necessarily qualifications that are essential for being placed on the Court for the next 20, 25 years.”
Miers, who was Bush’s personal lawyer before becoming his deputy chief of staff in 2003 and then White House counsel in 2004, would if nominated become only the third female justice in the history of the court.
O’Connor was often an important swing vote on the court, and Democrats are wary about her potential replacement.
“Justice O’Connor was an independent, intelligent and fair jurist and the person who replaces her will play an important role in shaping the direction of the Supreme Court for years to come,” Dodd said in a news release Monday.
Unlike recently confirmed Chief Justice John Roberts, Miers has no judicial record for senators to review.
Dodd said that he, “as always, will carefully examine Harriet Miers’ background and temperament to determine whether she’s qualified to serve on the highest court in the land.”
Similarly, Lieberman in his press release said, “I have a lot to learn before deciding whether or not to ‘advise and consent’ to her nomination to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court.”
Although nominating someone with no judicial experience is not unheard of (the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist did not have judicial experience before he became a Supreme Court justice) the senators said that they will be waiting for the hearings to see if Miers is qualified.
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