ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 26, 1997 TAG: 9702260055
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
FOR THE GENERAL Assembly to lock horns on a Virginia Supreme Court selection, thereby sending it to the governor, is not unprecedented. In 1983, for example, the Senate and the House couldn't agree on a nominee, and handed the matter to then-Gov. Charles Robb.
The difference between then and now? Then, party politics wasn't at the heart of the dispute. When the 1997 General Assembly adjourned without naming a Supreme Court justice to succeed the retiring Roscoe Stephenson, party politics was very much at the heart of it.
In 1983, the Democrats easily controlled both houses of the assembly; the governor was a Democrat. Though some Democrats apparently are having trouble figuring it out, they no longer run the entire show. They outnumber the Republicans by seven in the House, but the Senate is split 20-20; under the state Constitution, the 21st tie-breaking Democratic vote of Lt. Gov. Don Beyer does not apply to judicial appointments. And the governor to whom the lawmakers have punted, George Allen, is very Republican.
A compromise ultimately was reached in the Senate. Toward the final hour, four Democratic votes were found for former state Sen. Wiley Mitchell, a moderate Republican whose name the GOP had come to rally around. In the House, however, Mitchell was rejected on a straight party-line vote.
In 1983, Robb came through with a fine if unexpected appointment, Richmond lawyer John Charles Thomas. Thomas, the court's first black member, won easy confirmation at the next legislative session and put in a productive six years before resigning for health reasons.
Allen could come up with a similarly inspired choice. Or he could choose a party hack or ideological firebrand who would be sure to churn up a storm when the assembly must confirm the choice in 1998 - after Allen has left office.
"[Y]ou should consider qualifications," complained one senator amid the partisan bickering. "That hasn't even come up." Surely, it shouldn't be too hard for the governor to do better than that.
LENGTH: Short : 41 linesby CNB