CNN reports Luttig brought his family to court today in Richmond, VA, to

[flpoljunkie]

watch his terrorist trial. He does not have a long way to drive to DC (102 miles), and his family is already in their Sunday best. Hope it is just a coincidence. Luttig is reported be the far right wing's dream candidate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/01/AR2005070100756.html

J. Michael Luttig, 51, has been a favorite in conservative legal circles for decades, going back to his clerkship for then-Judge Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 1982-83.

A graduate of Washington and Lee University and the University of Virginia law school, Luttig also clerked for Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in 1983-84, practiced law in the private sector from 1985-1989, and then served in a variety of Justice Department positions during the first Bush administration, where his duties included helping current Justices Clarence Thomas and David H. Souter win Senate confirmation.

President George H.W. Bush appointed him to the Richmond-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 1991, when Luttig was just 37 years old. Ever since, he has been spoken of as a likely choice for the Supreme Court should a Republican president have a chance to name him. His many supporters on the right, including ex-law clerks sprinkled throughout the Bush administration, think now is Luttig's time.

This has sometimes led him to clash with other members of the 4th Circuit, including fellow conservative J. Harvie Wilkinson, also thought of as a Supreme Court contender. In 2000, he dissented from a ruling by Wilkinson that upheld a Fish and Wildlife Service regulation limiting the killing of endangered wolves on private land. He also disagreed with Wilkinson in 2003, when he wrote a dissenting opinion that supported the Bush administration's position that it could designate and detain "enemy combatants" with little judicial scrutiny.

In 1998, he upheld Virginia's ban on the procedure known as a partial birth abortion -- but agreed to let it be struck down after the Supreme Court struck down a similar Nebraska law in 2000.

-- Charles Lane

[Bleacher Creature]

1. Is he the one whose father was killed by a carjacker?

If so, heaven help us. I feel genuinely bad for the guy, but he has a duty to recuse himself from similar cases. Instead, he refuses and rules against defendants left and right.

And that's nothing compared to all the fundie crap.

[flpoljunkie]

3. Yes. Link below.

http://www.internationaljusticeproject.org/juvNBeazley.cfm

Napolean Beazley

Texas

Beazley was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, Tuesday, May 28 at 7:17 p.m.

Napoleon Beazley, an African American child offender, was sentenced to death by an all white Tyler, Texas jury, for the April 19, 1994 murder of John Luttig, a wealthy white Tyler community leader. Beazley was just 17 years old at the time of his offense. He is scheduled for execution on August 15, 2001 in Texas.

In order to obtain the death penalty, the State must prove that the defendant poses a risk of future dangerousness to others; one of the principal methods used by the State to meet this burden is by producing the prior criminal record of the defendant. Napoleon had no prior contact with the police. In fact, the prosecutors were unable to unearth any complaint or instance of physical aggression instigated by Napoleon against anyone. Numerous witnesses testified at the punishment phase of Napoleon's trial about their prior perceptions of his goodness and their belief that he was redeemable, even in light of his crime. Among these witnesses was Cindy Garner, who remains the elected District Attorney of Houston Country, where Grapeland is located. Further information on this case can be found at: http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/juvjus/beazley.html

[Botany]

2. In other words it is OK to shoot a Red Wolf on your land ..... there are

@ least 50 of them in all the world.

In 2000, he dissented from a ruling by Wilkinson that upheld a Fish and Wildlife Service regulation limiting the killing of endangered wolves on private land.

[belle]

4. aghh, please say it ain't so.

Not that Bush's word means jack shit, of course, but in this case it seems not too unlikely that he will, in fact, go for a woman--a minority woman would be even better, if she's a wingnut. gives them more leverage in challenging the filibuster.

[mandomom]

5. Rally 'round the extremists.

What do the right wing christian nominees think about a president who harbors a suspected felon in the cover of OUR White House? Ask that in the confirmation hearings.

[flpoljunkie]

6. Pete Wilson said on MSNBC Luttig's family in court today for her b'day...

could be, but this could be diversionary...

Redstate.org is reporting that his deep throat source in the White House is reporting that the pick will be a "real surprise."

In that category, I would place Miguel Estrada and Senator John Cornyn.

One thing is for sure, the White House appears to be holding this secret tight.