Appeals Court Judge Wood Draws Notice As Possible Supreme Court Pick

Seventh Circuit Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood is attracting speculation that she could be President Obama's Supreme Court nominee if Justice John Paul Stevens retires this year, USA Today reports.

Stevens, who will turn 90 in April, has not chosen a full roster of legal clerks for the court term beginning in October, prompting observers to predict a pending retirement. Stevens recently told the New Yorker that he would decide in the next month whether to retire. Wood, Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano all are considered top contenders for a Supreme Court vacancy, in part because President Obama interviewed each of them before nominating Justice Sonia Sotomayor to fill retired Justice David Souter's seat last year.

On Tuesday, Wood spoke about her legal experiences during a talk hosted by the American Constitution Society. Thomas Goldstein -- founder of SCOTUSblog and a regular advocate before the Supreme Court -- introduced Wood at Tuesday's event, saying she would be the next Supreme Court justice "if the stars align" and Democrats prevail.

Goldstein in February speculated that Kagan -- the nation's first female solicitor general and a former dean of Harvard Law School -- may be a more likely nominee because of her reputation as less liberal than Wood.

According to USA Today, Wood, who joined the appeals court in 1995, "has been an unswerving voice on the left, including in support of abortion rights," an issue that she did not directly address on Tuesday.

In her talk, Wood described her role as one of only two women on the circuit court during the 1990s and her experiences with lawyers who had "a little trouble" with a female presence on the bench (Biskupic, USA Today, 3/24).


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