U.S. SUPREME COURT RESIGNATIONS EXPECTED THIS SUMMER

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – President George W. Bush could have his first opportunity to name a Supreme Court justice this year, with the resignations of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor rumoured to be taking place this summer. The retirement of two justices would herald “the greatest upheaval on the court in 32 years,” according to Newsday sources.  Neither resignation is certain, but the White House is preparing for the possibility of two or three vacancies including the post of Chief Justice, which, conceivably, would be filled by a sitting justice such as Antonin Scalia, 67, or Clarence Thomas, 54. The judicial philosophy of both is that the constitution should be read as intended by the Founders—and that tends to include the Right to Life.  Pro-life observers believe it would take at least one more retirement (and enough solid judicial appointments) to shift the court decisively out of the liberal judicial activist mentality that produced Roe v. Wade. Justice John Paul Stevens, at 83, is considered ripe for retirement; but as a liberal, he is likely to hold on as long as he can while Bush is in office.  Possibly candidates are White House counsel Alberto Gonzales; Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Michael Luttig; Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson; Michael Chertoff; and Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Samuel Alito; Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson; California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown; and Fifth Circuit Court Judge Edith Jones; and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Emilio Garza.  For more details from Newsday:  https://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uscort183290915may18,0,2671000.story