Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 23, 1990 TAG: 9007230224
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
But they admit the "A" word - abortion - is likely to be a focal point in Senate debate no matter who the president selects.
"If the president sends up somebody committed to overturning Roe vs. Wade, there will be a battle," Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, said today. If the nominee is not committed to an anti-abortion position, he added, "I think such a person will be confirmed if he has a decent balanced background."
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, appearing with Metzenbaum on NBC's "Today" show, said no one issue "should be a determinant on a person's future on the Supreme Court," and predicted the Judiciary Committee, on which he and Metzenbaum both sit, would not ask direct questions on a nominee's position on abortion.
Senate Republican leader Bob Dole of Kansas said abortion "shouldn't be the single litmus test in picking a Supreme Court justice."
The GOP leader acknowledged, however, that he has warned Bush that "I assume the big `A' word would be the tough hurdle to climb."
"If you have to have someone who wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade, it's going to be a bloodbath getting the nomination confirmed, and the same is true on the other side," he said.
Among those who have been most often cited as potential nominees are Solicitor General Kenneth W. Starr and a number of federal appellate judges, including Ralph K. Winter of New York, J. Harvie Wilkinson and William W. Wilkens Jr. of Richmond, Va., Patrick E. Higginbotham of New Orleans, Ferdinand Fernandez of California, David Souter of Boston, Alex Kozinski of San Francisco and Edith Jones of New Orleans.
Bush has said he hopes to have a new justice seated by October. Brennan, who was a leading voice of liberalism on the Supreme Court, resigned Friday.
Conservatives have held a slim 5-4 majority on the court and liberals fear Brennan's successor could push the court further to the right.
Top aides briefed Bush on Sunday night on the search for Brennan's successor, but no decisions were made, said White House spokeswoman Alixe Glen.
At the meeting, Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, presidential counsel Boyden Gray and White House chief of staff John Sununu updated Bush on progress since their Saturday morning meeting. Also attending the meeting Sunday was Vice President Dan Quayle.
Metzenbaum, appearing on ABC-TV's "This Week With David Brinkley," said Bush should look for someone who has "a good judicial record, judicial temperament."
Metzenbaum said nominees should not be quizzed on how they stand on particular issues, but added that "I might well vote against" someone who wanted to reverse the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that established a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., appearing on CBS-TV's "Face the Nation," said the job calls for someone "learned in the law, background, experience, integrity."
Dole's checklist list included relative youth. The nominee should be "young enough to be there 10, 15, 20 years," he said.
Dole, appearing on NBC-TV's "Meet the Press," also said Bush should look for someone non-controversial, and who would stick to strictly interpreting the Constitution - "not an activist as Justice Brennan has been."
by CNB