Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington DC 20001-5403
Phone (202) 842-0200
Fax (202) 842-3490
Contact Us

For Media

News Release

July 1, 2005

Media Contact: (202) 789-5200

Cato legal experts available to comment on Justice O'Connor's departure

WASHINGTON -- The following Cato experts are available for comment on the retirement of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the future of the Supreme Court.

Roger Pilon, founder and director of the Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies. Pilon held senior posts at the Department of Justice and the State Department during the Reagan administration:

"With Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation from the Supreme Court, the extraordinary confirmation battle that was expected with a Rehnquist resignation will be even more intense -- O'Connor, after all, has been a 'swing vote' for years.

"On a Court increasingly divided by ideology, the sole swing vote often determines the outcome in highly charged cases -- cases involving federalism, civil rights, property rights, religion, abortion, campaign finance, and much else. In all likelihood, the first casualty of this looming battle will be the filibuster 'deal' that 14 Senate 'moderates' struck in May to end the threat posed by the Republican's 'constitutional option,' which would have ended Democratic filibusters of judicial nominations. With a 'swing seat' to fill, Democrats and their supporters will pull out all the stops, since President Bush is not likely to nominate anyone who will satisfy the Democratic base. We're in for an interesting next few weeks."

Mark Moller, editor of the Cato Supreme Court Review:

"While Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has been a key vote in favor of reinvigorating constitutional limits on federal power, her unpredictable style of judging -- favoring narrow, vague decisions over broad, clear ones -- has short-changed the Rehnquist Court's promise, ensuring that on many key fronts the Constitution's most important guarantees remain under-enforced.

"Her retirement therefore gives President Bush an especially important opportunity to shape the Court's future. Hopefully, he will have the vision to choose a replacement who possesses the quality that Justice O'Connor lacked: namely, a willingness to take clear and consistent stands in favor of constitutional principle."

To arrange an interview with a Cato expert, contact the Cato media relations department at 202-789-5200 or pr@cato.org.

Contact:

Kristen Kestner, media manager, 202-789-5212, kkestner@cato.org
Evans Pierre, director of broadcasting, 202-789-5204, epierre@cato.org

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Daily Podcast
Bert Ely - Lessons From the Subprime Crisis
1234

Media Contacts

Khristine Brookes, Vice President for Communications
(202) 218-4628, kbrookes@cato.org

Leigh Harrington, Director of Broadcasting
(202) 789-5204, lharrington@cato.org
Contact for TV and Radio

Chris Kennedy, Director of Media Relations
(202) 789-5212, ckennedy@cato.org
Contact for print media

Andrew Mast, Web Content Editor
(202) 789-5284, amast@cato.org  

Laura Osio, Media Manager
(202) 789-5263, losio@cato.org
Contact for print media  

Caleb Brown, Multimedia Producer
(202) 218-4603, cbrown@cato.org

Lester Romero, Multimedia Coordinator
(202) 789-5228, lromero@cato.org

Upcoming Studies

"A Matter of Trust: Why Congress Should Turn Federal Lands into Fiduciary Trusts," by Randal O'Toole


"The Case against Government Intervention in Energy Markets: Revisited Once Again," by Richard Gordon


"The Benefits of Port Liberalization: A Case Study from India," by Swaminathan Aiyar