I believe that Harold Koh, current Obama nominee for legal adviser to the State Department, would make an excellent Supreme Court pick, for a number of reasons, perhaps most important of which is a greater likelihood of torture prosecutions if Mr. Koh were sitting on the bench.
Follow my over the fold to see why...
Here are just a few reasons why Harold Koh would be a good pick for the Supreme Court.
- Age. At 54, Koh is a relatively young man and should be able to serve on the court for several decades.
- Minority. Koh satisfies the idea that the next Justice should be a woman or a minority, and would be the fist Asian-American Supreme Court Justice.
- Life experience. Koh clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, who started off as a conservative member of the court but later went on to author Roe vs. Wade and became the most liberal member of the court when he retired. Koh was also Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor under Bill Clinton. Koh is now the Dean of Yale Law school.
- Judicial Outlook. Koh has been described by some conservative commentators as a "partisan Democrat," though students of all political persuasions at Yale think he's done a good job. The fact that Glen Beck hates Koh is a good sign that Koh would be a solid liberal and help balance out Scalia, Thomas, and Alito.
- Interpretation of International Law: Koh has been an outspoken advocate of the need for international cooperation and international law. He is the nominee most likely to both honor our international law obligations, such as the Geneva conventions. If torture cases ever come before the Supreme Court, the international law implications will be inescapable - both because of the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture, but also because of cases from other courts, such as the Spanish court inquiry into US torture crimes or a possible future U.N. or E.U. inquiry.
For all of these reasons, I believe Harold Koh would both support Obama's policies and be a choice for the vacancy. What are your thoughts and who are your favorite picks for the high court?