
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 7, 1994                   TAG: 9404070335
SECTION: NATL/INT                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

MITCHELL LEADING COURT CHOICE

As Harry Blackmun officially announced his long-anticipated retirement from the Supreme Court on Wednesday, President Clinton said he was searching for ``someone of genuine stature and a largeness of spirit'' to replace the 85-year-old justice.

If he uses the criteria that led him to nominate Ruth Bader Ginsburg last year, Clinton will look for a moderate-to-liberal candidate who would help forge a consensus from the court's shifting alliances.

Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, 60, who has announced he will not run for re-election this year, appeared to be the front-runner.

White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler, who heads the team that will recommend Blackmun's replacement to the president, said there is precedent for nominating a senator still serving in Congress; seven senators have become justices.

Blackmun has said he is willing to stay on the court until Sept. 24, which could permit Mitchell to guide Clinton's health reform program in Congress and be confirmed before the court begins a new term in October.

The White House is also considering Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, U.S. Solicitor General Drew Days, Chief U.S. District Judge Jose A. Cabranes of New Haven, Conn., and federal appeals Judge Richard S. Arnold of Little Rock, Ark.

Unlike recent Supreme Court nominations, which moved the court in one direction or another, this one is likely to replace an octogenarian liberal with a younger liberal. But like past nominations, this one is quickly becoming a lightning rod for both sides of the bitterly debated abortion issue.

Clinton declined to say whether he wanted to appoint someone as committed to abortion rights as Blackmun, who wrote the Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973. The president did say, ``I agree with the decision, and I think it's an important one.''

Although the core of the Roe ruling appears safe, the court remains closely divided on the extent of state abortion restrictions.

A leading anti-abortion group, the National Right to Life Committee, expressed fears that Clinton would name a strong supporter of abortion rights. Abortion-rights leaders warned Clinton against naming a consensus candidate who is weak on the reproductive rights of women.

Clinton's pursuit of diversity would favor Cabranes, 53, born in Puerto Rico and a jurist for more than 14 years. No Hispanic has ever been named to the Supreme Court.

by CNB