Instead of writing her biography, I'll let you catch up briefly by following these links:
ABC
Wikipedia
WashPo
But, at this time, I ask you to join me in supporting Leah Ward Sears to replace John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.
There are several very good reasons to support Ms. Sears, both progressive and pragmatic (zomg noes!!!!)
Sears's progressive credentials are well-summarized by her Wikipedia page, her decisions and organization memberships, so again, I won't write much on them. Suffice it to say that she wouldn't be Mr. Thomas.
Pragmatically, though:
- She is emminently qualified, having served as the first chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. A "WQ" rating from the ABA would be a given.
- She is 55 years old and could serve as long as Alito and Roberts would, should no issues (medical or otherwise) prevent them from serving what would essentially be "for life".
- She has taught, judged, and practiced privately: her experience across all of the major legal arenas would disway any debate over being a 'one-trick pony' or a justice with an agenda.
- She is female and African-American. Sears' successful nomination would make her the first female black justice of the Supreme Court; it would be quite difficult politically to oppose her without very strong, tangible non-political reasons to do so, which we've already shown to not be there.
- She is friends with Justice Thomas, which would likely keep him and any other of the politically-connected justices from leaning on friendly Senators to give her a hard time.
I don't know anything about Sears's personal life and I hope there are no skeletons or awkwardly-minority decisions that would come up, but very few justices have ZERO sketchy decisions in the closet.
The most important aspect (besides her leanings ideologically) for me is her race/gender. Being a libertarian-leaning liberal, I sometimes quaff at the notion that race/gender should matter, but to me in this situation it REALLY matters, and here's why:
Sears would be the first female black Supreme Court Justice...and the pressure is on right from the nomination. Sears is strong, capable, very qualified, and experienced...the fewer gaffs and/or perceived weaknesses from a breakthrough historical candidate, the better, and I think Sears is the best opportunity that has ever presented itself to a President for a nomination of a black female.
Besides a great example, I do think that when the people see themselves represented in a government branch, it inspires them to work hard and foster unity within our diverse country. I don't think the SCOTUS membership should reflect racial % of populations of the country based solely on that criteria by any means, but I do think quality justices that are also members of a maligned-feeling minority group are very helpful to the country as a whole.
And just think...former Chief Justice of Georgia...who would Obama pick when Roberts decides to resign in 4 years to pursue "teaching and spending more time with his family"????