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."

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