SUPREME CHOICE 10 contenders who could replace Scalia
WASHINGTON — Who could replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died Saturday in Texas, if Republicans don’t block all of President Obama’s nominees, as appears likely? Here are 10 possibilities:
Sri Srinivasan
The 48- year- old federal appeals court judge was confirmed unanimously in 2013 for a seat on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit— a traditional steppingstone to the Supreme Court. He would be the court’s first Indian- American justice.
Patricia Millett
Srinivasan’s 52- year- old colleague on the D. C. Circuit is popular in both parties and is frequently mentioned as a possible candidate. She argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court as an advocate. According to her court biography, she graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign summa cum laude in 1985 and from Harvard Law School.
Merrick Garland
At 63, Garland is older than most nominees, since presidents want their choices to stick around for decades on the bench. He is a moderate who serves as chief judge on the D. C. Circuit court and could be a compromise choice.
Kamala Harris
California’s attorney general, 51, could be another leading candidate. She has the added luster of holding political office, a life experience that is sorely lacking on the Supreme Court. She’s currently running for the U. S. Senate seat of retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer.
Jacqueline Nguyen
The Asian- American judge, who sits on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, has been mentioned frequently in the initial hours after Scalia’s death. At 50, she is the perfect age for a nominee.
Amy Klobuchar
If the Senate would be less inclined to block one of its own, the senior senator from Minnesota, 55, might be someone Obama would consider.
Sheldon Whitehouse
See “Senate” above. Whitehouse, 60, the junior senator from Rhode Island, is a former attorney general of Rhode Island and U. S. attorney with strong credentials.
Cory Booker
The third in a triumverate of senators who could be chosen if Obama wants to put Republican senators on the spot by threatening to block one of their own. Booker, 46, the former Newark, N. J., mayor, has been in the Senate since 2013.
Paul Watford
A judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Watford, 48, is another Obama nominee with a potentially stellar future. Some court- watchers expect the African- American judge to be Obama’s first choice.
Jane Kelly
She is a 51- year- old judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit who was a career public defender. From Iowa, she has enjoyed the prior support of Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee.