Bender on KFYI: Supreme Court appointment

With President Obama about to make his first appointment to the nation's highest court, due to the planned retirement of Justice David Souter, Professor and Dean Emeritus Paul Bender of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law weighed in on what might happen with a successor.

Bender told KFYI reporter Bob Bennett in separate interviews that he agrees that an individual with no prior judicial experience would be a good choice.

"Think about all the really well known U.S. Supreme Court justices who were not judges before they got on the court, Earl Warren, for one, Felix Frankfurter, for another, Hugo Black," he said.

Former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, now Obama's Secretary of Homeland Security, has been mentioned as a possible appointee, but Bender thinks that, while well qualified, Napolitano is a long shot.

"And whoever gets nominated won't reshape the court's philosophy," he said.

To listen to the interviews, click here.

Janie Magruder, Jane.Magruder@asu.edu
(480) 727-9052
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law