The Sandspur

Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: Opinions

Here comes another exciting round of the Supreme Court boxing match. Only this time, no one is putting his or her money on the new fighter.

President Bush appointed Harriet Miers to replace Sandra Day O'Connor's place in the Supreme Court, and liberals and conservatives alike are complaining about her lack of experience. She has never served as a judge and this is troublesome to many.

Many Democrats complain that she has never been a judge. They are the same ones that complained about John Roberts for being too conservative even though they were very much in approval of him before President Bush nominated him to the position of Supreme Court Justice.

The issue of partisanship is actually disconcerting to Republicans because they do not consider Harriet Miers conservative enough. Because she has never been a judge, her record of partisanship voting is not all that extensive. However, her record does not identify her as a strong conservative. As a Republican, I am shocked and disappointed with the members of my party because they forget that it is the responsibility of Supreme Court justices to be unbiased. Their job is to interpret the Constitution, not to create new laws or policies. They interpret the amendments that have already been created, and they are supposed to do so in a manner that leaves their own personal vendettas at the door.

What many also forget is that Judge William Rehnquist also has never served as a judge before being confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. In fact, 10 of the 34 justices appointed since 1933 went to these judicial positions directly from executive branch positions.

Miers is certainly not new to the courtroom, anyway. She witnessed the scene from the other side of the bench when she was a corporate attorney for 28 years. She knows the law. She knows how to argue it. She knows how others will argue it.

In 1972, Miers was the first woman ever to be hired by the Dallas firm Locke Purnell, and in the 1980s, she even became the president of the Dallas bar. She has, therefore, proven herself to be a formidable attorney in her Texas roles.

Possibly the most important element of Miers' resume is her direct work with the president. Many criticize the president's choice of someone with whom he works so closely. However, Miers' knowledge of and comfort with federal policy and law strengthen her position as a possible candidate for the Supreme Court. Her position as White House Counsel continuously forces Miers to deal with intricate issues of constitutional law. She may have never evaluated these issues from the bench. However, she is more than familiar with constitutional law and how to address it.

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