Free Republic

President Obama's first selection of a Supreme Court justice is being managed by a small group of senior advisers, and the process will last at least into next week before producing a candidate who the administration hopes will inject real-world experience into the nation's highest court.... The advisers are gathering recommendations from congressional leaders and determining what criteria will count most in narrowing the field of candidates to replace Justice David H. Souter...(Obama) has indicated that he wants a candidate who has a less traditional résumé, in order to bring diversity to a high court now filled entirely by former...

The battles in Congress over the appointment of even lower court federal judges reveal a recognition that federal judges are now, to a large extent, our real lawmakers. Proposals to amend the Constitution to remove lifetime tenure for Supreme Court justices, or to require that rulings of unconstitutionality be by more than a majority (5-4) vote, do not address the source of the problem. The Constitution is very difficult to amend--probably the most difficult of any supposedly democratic government. If opponents of rule by judges secure the political power to obtain an amendment, it should be one that addresses the...