(((MS PING)))
Mississippi ping.
You might be interested in this.
If you're happy, I'm happy!
He still has three vacancies to fill in the D.C. circuit court of appeals, and only one nominee so far (guy blocked in senate for ages). That's the most important appeals court, where supreme court justices often come from.
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 8, 2006Nominations Sent to the Senate
Patricia P. Brister, of Louisiana, for the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of service as the Representative of the United States of America on the Commission on the Status of Women of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
Sandra Segal Ikuta, of California, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, vice James R. Browning, retired.
Michael Brunson Wallace, of Mississippi, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit, vice Charles W. Pickering, Sr., retired.
# # #
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060208-11.html
Wallace worked for CJ Rehnquist and then was hired by Sen Lott to help out with the impeachment of Bill Clinton. That sounds very promising.
A former Lott aide? I'd say that means we can expect a reliable conservative. Glad to see the White House making solid choices.
More conservative than Pickering?
That's wonderful!
I see he clerked for Rehnquist.
That's quite a reference.
Thanks, bourbon.
Abstract: Analyzes the body of law concerned with timing-of-death issues, using a Critical Legal theory approach. Examines how jurists have failed to satisfactorily resolve the issues raised by new medical technologies, and explores some of the reasons for this failure. Discusses the legal distinctions that must be made between suicide and a permissible decision to forgo treatment in order to hasten the moment of death, and between euthanasia and a permissible decision to withhold, terminate, or provide a treatment that will lead to death. Points out that contemporary legal language may be inadequate for a coherent discussion of timing-of-death issues, and for this reason, the distinctions used in timing-of-death laws have no determinate meaning. Also explores the basic framework used by courts to structure their analysis of cases dealing with timing-of-death issues, and examines the inadequacy of this legal framework for guiding doctors' decisionmaking in timing-of-death situations.
Descriptor Terms: DEATH, MEDICAL TREATMENT, LEGAL CONCERNS, COURT CASES.
I would be happier if he were a former aid to John Lott.
(IMO, the judiciary is one of the two most important legacies he will leave this country. The other is his strength in the WoT).
Appeals Court Nominee Has History With 9th Circuit
Justin Scheck - The Recorder
02-13-2006... But the list of people who do know her is significant. Among them, former Secretary of State Warren Christopher (who put in a good word with Sen. Dianne Feinstein), 9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (she clerked for both) and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (her current boss).
Despite friends like those, the former O'Melveny & Myers partner -- who has been general counsel to the California Resources Agency since 2004 -- has managed to remain under the mainstream's radar for years.
That's due more to her demeanor than her capabilities, say those who know her.
Kozinski on Thursday said he had expected Ikuta to be nominated for some time. "It's been in the works for six months or a year," he said. As a clerk, Kozinski said Ikuta -- known in Sacramento as a moderate conservative -- was thoughtful, careful and subdued.
Her mind, according to those who know her, is as fast as lightning, tackling subjects from environmental law to kung fu writing. Before going to law school Ikuta got a master's in journalism from Columbia University and was an editor of martial arts magazines.
"It is a great juxtaposition for someone who is as brilliant as she is, as studious and as academic as she can be," said Stanley Blumenfeld Jr., an O'Melveny partner.
Blumenfeld met Ikuta in law school and worked with her on the UCLA law review -- where her experience at magazines like Inside Kung Fu came in handy.
After getting their J.D.s from UCLA School of Law, Blumenfeld and Ikuta both clerked for the 9th Circuit and later spent years working together as co-chairs of O'Melveny's environmental practice, where Ikuta became best known for transactional and regulatory work.
"Sandra knows the substance of environmental law, both California and federal environmental law, in probably all of its manifestations," Blumenfeld said.
Those who know her say Ikuta is a deliberative decision-maker.
"I was far more likely to get excited about a case or to take an extreme view," Kozinski said. "She always wanted to rein me in."
"She would always think in shades of gray, while I tend to be more of a black-and-white kind of guy," he added.
Ninth Circuit Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw -- a President Clinton appointee and former O'Melveny partner who worked with Ikuta -- agreed. "She wouldn't take an ideological position," she said.
"I support her nomination," Wardlaw added, "and I look forward to working with her."
Ninth Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt said he knows little about Ikuta, but pointed out that in the past, it's been rare for a former Ninth Circuit clerk to become a judge.