Last updated 27 October 2005

"If great intellectual powerhouse is a qualification to be a member of the court and represent the American people and the wishes of the American people and to interpret the Constitution, then I think we have a court so skewed on the intellectual side that we may not be getting representation of America as a whole."
             Former Indiana Senator Dan Coats, a Republican working to help Miers' confirmation

Harriet Miers (10 August, 1945 - ) is U.S. President George W. Bush's second nominee to the Supreme Court post vacated by the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Initially, President Bush nominated John Roberts, who previously had served on the U.S. Court of Appeals in the D.C. Circuit; however, with the sudden death of former Chief Justice William Rehnquist from thyroid cancer, the president instead nominated Judge Roberts to the Chief Justice position.

President Bush announced his nomination on Monday, 3 October, and the nomination has already drawn criticism from both sides of the aisle because, despite a long and distinguished career as a lawyer, she has never sat on the bench and thus very little can be surmised about her judicial philosophy or even her potential competence as a judge. What she does have is a long, close acquaintance with President Bush; at present, she is serving as the White House Counsel, and her personal acquaintance with the president extends back into their years in Texas.

Her relationship with the Bush White House extends back some time. She was the White House staff secretary and then the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy (making her an assistant to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card) before Bush appointed Alberto Gonzalez to Attorney General, promoting Ms. Miers to the position of White House Counsel.

Life and Times

She was born and lived most of her life in Dallas, Texas. She entered Southern Methodist University and planned to become a teacher, supporting herself with part-time jobs due to her family's financial difficulties. After her father suffered a debilitating stroke, a lawyer helped resolve her family's worsening money troubles, which inspired her to become a lawyer herself. She got her Juris Doctor from the same school in 1970.

She worked as a law clerk for the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas before entering private practice with the law firm of Locke, Liddell & Sapp, beginning as the firm's first female lawyer and eventually becoming its president. Her work was mostly in commercial litigation, and she represented large companies including Microsoft. In 1986 she became the first female president of the Dallas Bar Association, and in 1992 became the first female head of the State Bar of Texas. She fought unsuccessfully to change the State Bar's pro-choice position to one neutral on abortion, reflecting her religious beliefs. Between 1989 and 1991 she served a term on the Dallas City Council. She has also served in important positions in the American Bar Association, and between 1995 and 2000 served as head of the Texas Lottery Commission.

She began working for George W. Bush at the beginning of his term as Texas' governor, and later was employed by his 2000 presidential campaign. In her personal politics, she has shifted from conservative Democrat to Republican, with substantial contributions to many Republican candidates and causes.

She has never been married, though she has a close friend, sometimes described as an "on-again, off-again boyfriend", Texas Supreme Court justice Nathan Hecht. She is an evangelical Christian, and besides a long-standing professional relationship, is one of President Bush's closest personal friends.

Supreme Court Nomination

Despite her distinguished legal career, Harriet Miers has never served as a judge and little can be determined about her judicial philosophy. The president's speeches in the wake of the nomination suggest that she is an originalist or strict constructionist with respect to the Constitution. Her religious affiliation and attempt to change the State Bar of Texas' position on abortion certainly suggest conservatism and, particularly, pro-life political views - though it's unknown how much her own politics will influence her votes on the Court. There is discussion of a questionnaire submitted by a gay rights group in Texas that indicated that she did not support a repeal of Texas' anti-sodomy laws; if this is the case, then in 1992 at least she held extremely right-wing views on homosexuality.

Nevertheless, the nomination has been criticized by conservative politicians as well, who question whether it's clear that her political views are conservative. The controversy surrounding her nomination has occurred on both sides of the aisle, with many conservatives unwilling to trust the president's endorsement without other evidence as to her philosophy. Comparisons have been drawn to David Souter, who was nominated by George Bush, Sr. under the belief that he would be a conservative jurist, but later became known as one of the Court's moderates.

Despite the concerns regarding her own record and the appearance of cronyism in the nomination, Court-watchers have noted in recent years that most Supreme Court justices have had little experience in arguing cases as lawyers, and that experience was in most cases decades ago. Some commentators - either out of optimism or loyalty to the president - believe that Miers will bring a new perspective to the Supreme Court. However, it's safe to say that even the president's supporters are not entirely comfortable with his choice.

Commentators and politicians on both sides have called for Ms. Miers to resign her nomination in view of her lack of judicial experience. The Court is carefully balanced at the present time, and Democratic senators promised even before this nomination to fight to ensure that the Court's new Associate Justice is not too conservative. John Roberts' nomination to replace Chief Justice Rehnquist was less important in preserving the Court's balance, as one conservative jurist was replaced by another. Sandra Day O'Connor's long tenure as one of the Court's swing votes means that the Court will likely be shaped for years to come by whoever is appointed in her place. And in the case of Harriet Miers, little can be guessed about how she will act on the Court beyond what President Bush has said about her. It seems the warmest praise anyone can muster is that Ms. Miers brings to the Court long-needed representation for the intellectually mediocre.

And as of Thursday, 27 October 2005, Harriet Miers has written to the president withdrawing herself from consideration for the post. This doesn't come as much of a shock to anyone, I don't think. The official reason is that the White House had been asked to produce copies of documents of conversations between Miers and the president in order to get a better feel for her philosophy, and the White House was unwilling to provide them. In reality, she had virtually no chance of confirmation; the president's right wing "base" was not sufficiently assured of her status as an originalist, and she has given the impression over the years of waivering in her opposition to abortion and other high-profile issues the Court is likely to consider.

Sources

Findlaw profile
Obsessive attention to the news, and some fascinating stuff in the Atlantic over the last several months.