Justice David Souter has come home to New Hampshire. With the recent announcement of Souter's retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court, the political machines of the Democrats and Republicans have been set into motion for another nomination battle. With all of the clamor about the process, and the prophesied apocalypse from every special interest group with ideological leanings, it's easy to lose sight of the real message of Souter's legacy.
Souter brought diversity to the Court, and we should pray that his replacement builds on that strength.
Yes, I did just equate a white male, Rhodes Scholar, lawyer, former attorney general from somewhere in the mountains of New Hampshire with diversity. This might seem laughable, considering the current make-up of the Supreme Court. In a nation where women outnumber men at the polls, just one member of the Court is a woman. And there is not one Hispanic member of the Court, even though the country's Hispanic population is growing faster than any other. All but one of the current justices graduated from either Harvard or Yale Law School.
So how is Souter's legacy one of diversity? According to an article in The New York Times following the announcement of Souter's retirement, he is an anomaly in that he secured his nomination as a justice with only three months of Circuit Court experience -- a "mistake" made by the conservative establishment, when Souter turned out to be one of the reliably liberal members of the Court ("Obama Has Chance to Select Justice With Varied Rsum," May 1). Furthermore, Souter has experience as a trial judge and attorney general in New Hampshire. All other members of the current Supreme Court are established federal appeals judges from Mid-Atlantic or Northeastern states, and lack Souter's brand of real world experience. On today's near-homogenous Supreme Court, Souter possessed diversity of experience -- an invaluable asset to the Court.
However, recent trends seem to have reduced "diversity" to a litmus test of race and gender. As Obama seeks to make his appointment, he must avoid such narrow-mindedness and aspire to a broader conception of diversity.
I've always been a proponent of the ideal meritocracy -- I couldn't care less about identity politics or whether leadership is red, blue, green, black, white, poor, male or from an underrepresented corner of Wyoming. Yet the reality of selecting any leadership, especially to the Supreme Court, is far more complicated. The weight of symbolism will always be a part of our nation's leadership.
The politics of identity have persisted since President Dwight D. Eisenhower selected an Irish Catholic named William Brennan to the Court. In an article following the announcement of former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement, MSNBC.com mentioned the nomination committee battle over nominee Harlan Fiske Stone in 1925. Liberal senators reviled Stone, considering him a "tool of the House of [financier J.P.] Morgan." He was the perfect populist punching bag, a "soulless investment banker," if you will. Can you imagine the CEO of a major hedge fund being nominated in this day and age, even if he were supremely qualified to serve as a justice?
Identity is an inseparable part of leadership. However, when our vision for identity and diversity can't move beyond race and gender, we not only distract ourselves from merit, but also deprive ourselves of a more holistic wealth of experience.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Obama has stated that he will make his choice based on a "diversity of experience." While selecting the first gay or Hispanic Supreme Court Justice would indeed be historic, Obama must stand by his words and seek out a truly unique perspective to put on the Court.
As an Ivy League white male, Souter would not fit most people's idea of "diversity." With this limited view of what constitutes diversity, however, we imperil our future and limit the perspectives within our leadership. After all, that kind of perspective would have never let Souter in the door. It is time that the president look beyond the federal appeals bench to private practice, the Senate or the halls of our revered law schools for a replacement to build on Souter's legacy.
