Handicapping the five potential nominees

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Handicapping the five potential nominees

By Tom Goldstein on Mar 11, 2016 at 9:14 am

Multiple media reports say that there are only five potential nominees to fill the Scalia seat: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Merrick Garland, Jane Kelly, Sri Srinivasan, and Paul Watford. In this post, I assume that is correct.

 

My best guess is that the choice will come down to whether the president concludes that Judge Brown Jackson’s service on a district court and on the Sentencing Commission give her sufficient objective qualifications for the job. If so, I believe he will pick her. If not, I think he will pick Judge Srinivasan, perhaps nominating Judge Brown Jackson at the same time to fill Judge Srinivasan’s seat on the D.C. Circuit.

 

Here is my thinking. Four core criteria will drive the decision, in order of importance: objective qualifications; the appointment’s legacy; politics; and confirmability. The fact that confirmability is the least important factor in this special circumstance – because Republicans control the Senate and they have made clear that no nominee is actually going to get confirmed – is important to my view that Judge Brown Jackson is the more likely nominee.

 

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Special Feature: The potential nominees to succeed Justice Scalia

 

DateAuthorPost Title03.11.16

Tom GoldsteinHandicapping the five potential

 

03.08.16Thomas HopsonPotential nominee: Raymond Lohier, former federal nominees

 

03.07.16Thomas Hopson Potential nominee:Judge Jane Kelly, former public prosecutor

 

r03.01.16Tom GoldsteinFive potential nominees from the federal appellate defende

 

02.16.16Tom GoldsteinContinued thoughts on the next nominee (and impressions of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson) bench

 

02.14.16Tom GoldsteinHow the politics of the next nomination will play out