Release date: Oct. 3, 2005
Contact: Elaine Justice at 404-727-0643 or elaine.justice@emory.edu

Bush May Have Trumped Senate With Miers Nomination, Say Emory Experts

President George W. Bush nominates White House Counsel Harriet Miers as Supreme Court Justice during a statement from the Oval Office on Monday October 3, 2005. White House photo by Paul Morse.

President Bush's choice of White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court will provide the Senate with some special challenges, say Emory Law School experts.

Robert Schapiro, former clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens, says he credits "the Laura Bush factor" in cinching Miers' nomination by President Bush to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Obviously, Miers is someone the first lady and the president know very well," he says. Schapiro can comment on the confirmation process itself, and the effects of current and future shifts on the court. His specialties include constitutional law, federal courts and civil procedure. 404-727-1103 or rschapir@law.emory.edu

Constitutional specialist Charles Shanor says the Miers nomination is "stealth with a twist. The twist is that she may be a stealth candidate to everyone else, but not to the president. He believes he knows all he needs to know about her." Shanor can comment on the impact of the court's changing membership on a number of cases this term. His specialties also include military law, employment discrimination and labor law. 404-727-6811, cshanor@law.emory.edu

Federal jurisdiction expert Richard Freer says Miers' nomination is the first time in a generation that someone without prior bench experience has been nominated, which presents a challenge for the Senate in its confirmation hearings. "This will be very vexing to Democrats because there is no paper trail of opinions from the bench," he says.

Freer also says that Chief Justice John Roberts' stated intention to increase the number of cases heard by the Supreme Court will likely be welcomed in some quarters. In recent years the court's written opinions decreased from some 150 per year under Chief Justice Earl Warren, to about 80 under the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Freer, whose specialties also include civil procedure and complex litigation, is dean of faculty and Robert Howell Hall Professor of Law. 404-636-3774 or rfreer@law.emory.edu

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