The list of liberal jurists who might replace one or two justices of the Supreme Court is long. At a party honoring conservative icon Ted Olson two days after the Republicans went down in defeat, the faces were equally long.
The Barack Obama juggernaut dashed the Supreme Court dreams of many who had used the last eight years to make themselves frontrunners in another GOP presidency. Olson was a key member of John McCain’s lawyers committee and would have had a big impact on who was named next.
Among those Olson would have been likely to push were his law partner, constitutional-law expert Miguel Estrada. Olson’s successor as solicitor general, Paul Clement, was considered almost a shoo-in for a court slot. Clement left government in June and hasn’t taken a new job, a sign that he hoped to go to the high court from his teaching position at Georgetown law school.
Olson’s friend and colleague on the McCain campaign, Maureen Mahoney, will content herself with her $1-million-a-year partnership at Latham & Watkins, and Viet Dinh, the brilliant legal scholar who directed many of his conservative friends onto the bench in the last eight years for President Bush, can put himself on the shelf for the next decade. Dinh, who fled Vietnam after McCain was released as a prisoner of war there, could have been McCain’s most memorable pick. Like Clement, Dinh is in his early forties, and his time might come around again.
Sorry, All You Supreme Court Hopefuls . . .
The list of liberal jurists who might replace one or two justices of the Supreme Court is long. At a party honoring conservative icon Ted Olson two days after the Republicans went down in defeat, the faces were equally long.
The Barack Obama juggernaut dashed the Supreme Court dreams of many who had used the last eight years to make themselves frontrunners in another GOP presidency. Olson was a key member of John McCain’s lawyers committee and would have had a big impact on who was named next.
Among those Olson would have been likely to push were his law partner, constitutional-law expert Miguel Estrada. Olson’s successor as solicitor general, Paul Clement, was considered almost a shoo-in for a court slot. Clement left government in June and hasn’t taken a new job, a sign that he hoped to go to the high court from his teaching position at Georgetown law school.
Olson’s friend and colleague on the McCain campaign, Maureen Mahoney, will content herself with her $1-million-a-year partnership at Latham & Watkins, and Viet Dinh, the brilliant legal scholar who directed many of his conservative friends onto the bench in the last eight years for President Bush, can put himself on the shelf for the next decade. Dinh, who fled Vietnam after McCain was released as a prisoner of war there, could have been McCain’s most memorable pick. Like Clement, Dinh is in his early forties, and his time might come around again.
Related: Top 30 Lawyers in Washington
This article first appeared in the December 2008 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Society Photos
Most Popular in News & Politics
Every Bus Line in DC Is Changing This Weekend. Here’s What to Know.
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Bans on Underage Vaping, Swastika Graffiti, Synthetic Dyes: New Virginia Laws Go Into Effect in July
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
Speaker Johnson’s Megabill Prayers Likely to Be Answered Before Holiday Weekend, Wrongly Deported Maryland Man Faced Abuse in El Salvador Prison, and We Found Some Yummy Nepalese Food
Pardoned J6er Will Join Ed Martin’s Justice Department Office, Trump Outlines Hypothetical Alligator Escape Plan, and We Have Fireworks Show Recommendations
The “World’s Largest Outdoor Museum” Is Coming to DC. Here’s a Preview.
A Cult Classic of Cannabis Brands Is Making Its DC Debut
The Commanders Wine and Dine DC Council Members; GOP Senator Suggests Tax Language Was “Airdropped” Into Spending Bill; and Trump Wants DOGE to Investigate Musk
100 Reasons to Love DC Right Now
How DC’s Attorney General Got So Good at Double Dutch
DC Council Ponders New Way to Expel Trayon White, the GOP’s Budget Bill Advances, and We Found You Some Tacos With Ethiopian Flair