"Varsity-level reporting" on Stephen Breyer's SCOTUS retirement, as well as JV reporting via photo montages that need to tell us more about Breyer's potential successor
Rachel Maddow was giddy on an historic day
I commend Supreme Court Justice Breyer for his decision to retire now. The Supreme Court has become political, and it is crucial for President Biden to be able to name the next Justice. At age 83, Breyer, the second-longest-serving Justice, is making a wise decision to step down now so that his successor can be confirmed in an orderly manner, unlike the chaotic, unprecedented process after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg died weeks before the 2020 Presidential election.
Who is the longest-serving Justice? Clarence Thomas, a person who jangles my nerves to this day. My political awakening happened in September 1991, when I was a neuroscience graduate student at Stanford, working in a lab that always had NPR playing in the common areas. I listened to live gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Thomas confirmation hearings, which were an infuriating shit-show. Led by, I hate to say it, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden. I have somewhat forgiven him, but I have never forgotten the atrocious, sexist treatment that Professor Anita Hill received in those hearings. My blood pressure rose as I carefully handled and installed the 1-pound blade I used to slice brain samples, while listening and learning how the world really worked as a 23-year-old who was still new to politics. I had only voted in one election at that point, 1988, bless my heart! The magnitude of the Supreme Court confirmation rules our lives to this day, when Thomas has now been on the bench for 30 years and is part of the powerful conservative majority.
But let’s get back to the reasons that today is a hopeful day!
I can’t wait to see who President Biden’s nominee is—the time is now to add a Black woman to the Supreme Court and I have no doubt that President Biden will live up to his promise to do so. Democrats need to be ready for a tough confirmation process. Hold on to our values, and at the same time, don’t accept any shenanigans from the Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell, who has shown from his recent actions that his party stands ready to muck up the process however they can.
I am so excited to see NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls mentioned on lists of potential nominees, and which I learned from seeing her in the photo montage from CNN, above! I had the opportunity to get to know Justice Earls during her campaign for NC Supreme Court and I think she is wonderful, so smart, with phenomenal credentials.
Former NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley would also appear on any comprehensive list of potential SCOTUS nominees, but her chief of staff issued a statement yesterday saying that she is committed to running for the US Senate. Given that she is the likely Democratic candidate for the US Senate seat, with her top primary opponent bowing out last month, this is an important decision with national importance.
On the media front, Rachel Maddow was positively giddy in her coverage last night, gushing over Nina Totenberg and her floral garden virtual background, to the point where Senator Amy Klobuchar had to deftly guide the conversation back on track. But I loved it because Rachel genuinely, deeply geeks out to history, and politics, and she knows it is such a privilege to be able to cover momentous news stories like this one. I respect the heck out of her.
What stood out to me was that Maddow’s expert guests were legendary NPR Supreme Court reporter Nina Totenberg, amazing Slate Supreme Court expert Dahlia Lithwick, and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee. You could not ask for three better experts. And I noticed that they are all women. But I don’t even know if that was a conscious choice on the part of The Rachel Maddow Show. It was a dream-team lineup, period.
I have a criticism for the media, which is that I am dismayed that I am seeing the photo montage of potential nominees posted in several outlets without clearly naming everyone, as shared on CNN.com and other outlets. I found a helpful AP graphic, but it was shared by ABC News in poorly cropped form, and I am working to track down the original (see below). These amazing women deserve better. I did my best to identify the potential nominees in the 8-person montage that includes Anita Earls:
In this montage we see:
Ketanji Brown Jackson, J. Michelle Childs, Anita Earls, Sherrilyn Ifill
Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, Leondra Kruger, Eunice Lee, Wilhelmina “Mimi” Wright
Ketanji Brown Jackson is a federal appellate Judge who is widely considered a leading contender for the SCOTUS nomination.
J. Michelle Childs is US is a United States district Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina President Biden has nominated her to the US Court of Appeals.
Anita Earls is a Justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Sherrilyn Ifill is the President of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Ifill has previously announced that she will step down from this position in Spring 2022.
Candace Jackson-Akiwumi is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. Akiwumi was nominated for the role by President Biden in April of last year.
Leondra Kruger is a Justice on the California Supreme Court.
Eunice Lee is a Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
Wilhelmina “Mimi” Wright is a U.S. District Judge.
There are of course other lists of possible SCOTUS candidates—this is the most exciting guessing game Washington D. C. has had in a while. The other name I see mentioned often is Judge Holly Thomas, a longtime civil rights lawyer who President Biden named to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
We thank all of these amazing potential nominees for their years of dedicated public service!
Onward, with hope, clear eyes and the determination that we need to make this confirmation process work, moving forward now.
***Update 1/27:
The poorly cropped version of the AP graphic was removed from the piece I linked to earlier.
Here is the full AP graphic: