Salon.com > Dan Noyes

Harriet Miers is all business

Fri, 07 Oct 2005 00:25:00 +0000

The outcry has run the gamut: From an angry religious right to wary liberals and Senate Democrats, President Bush managed to please almost no one with his nomination of Harriet Miers for the nation's top bench. But as pro-lifers and pro-choicers alike search for some scrap of ideological evidence in Miers' record to soothe their fears or fan their ire, one heavyweight constituency is quietly relishing the pick: corporate America.

One thing Miers has left clear in an otherwise thin paper trail is that she built her career on defending large corporations. She did her best to fend off class-action lawsuits by angry consumers claiming to be ripped off by Microsoft, the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, and former mortgage industry giant Lomas & Nettleton. She also has experience with the delights of contract conflicts and other tiffs between companies. Though President Bush singled out other accomplishments while announcing her nomination, Miers has been a board member of Dallas' Better Business Bureau and the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce. Her past campaign contributions to both Democrats and Republicans (the lion's share to Republicans) may befuddle ideologues -- but they undoubtedly make sense to big business, which often likes to play both sides of the aisle.

The moneyed scales of justice?

Wed, 14 Sep 2005 00:32:00 +0000

"I have no platform," said Chief Justice-designate John Roberts to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee when hearings convened Monday on Capitol Hill. "I come before the committee with no agenda."

But what Roberts does bring before the committee is a long list of ties to corporate America from his years of working as a lobbyist and an attorney in Washington on behalf of business and special interest groups. He also gives the Judiciary Committee a golden opportunity to shed light on a thorny but still largely ill-defined issue: how Supreme Court justices should contend with potential conflicts of interest, including whether they should recuse themselves from a case.

Within minutes of the White House announcement of Roberts' nomination in July, U.S. Chamber of Commerce president Thomas J. Donohue praised him as "highly regarded and well-respected by the legal and business communities." On its Web site, the National Association of Manufacturers prominently features a photo of Roberts (along with a new blog on judicial nominations), accompanied by the headline "The Business Case for Supreme Court Chief Justice Nominee John Roberts."

Here come the judges, again

Fri, 20 May 2005 23:53:00 +0000

Prepare for the not-so-magnificent seven. With Republicans poised to pull the trigger on the nuclear option, President Bush's right-wing nominees ride again.

Their return -- all were blocked in the Senate their first time around -- is propelling the government into a crisis, as they prepare to take seats in federal appeals courts, the second highest position in the judicial branch of government, beneath only the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court. Democrats oppose them for their extreme judicial and political philosophy, what they consider a conservative version of "judicial activism."

An assessment of the nominees' records suggests that all consider government regulation a central problem, while they view private enterprise and property a bedrock constitutional right. These nominees are the most visible examples of a judicial nomination trend that the Center for Investigative Reporting discovered in examining all appeals court and court of federal claims nominees during George W. Bush's first term as president.

Big biz battles for Bush’s bench

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 22:39:00 +0000

Last year, when the Senate considered William G. Myers III for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Democrats blocked his nomination with a filibuster after questions arose about his work as a lobbyist for mining and cattle interests. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., described Myers' environmental record as being "off the deep end," and environmental and Native American groups opposed Myers for his criticism of laws such as the Endangered Species Act and his alleged disrespect for Indian lands and rights. On Tuesday, Myers' nomination goes back before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the opening battle in Washington's on-again partisan wars over President Bush's judicial nominees. This time around, Myers has the full support of his friends in industry.

Courting big business

Fri, 02 Apr 2004 19:28:00 +0000

When President Bush nominated William G. Myers III to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in May 2003, judicial experience apparently wasn't a factor in the choice. Myers has spent little time in the courtroom as a lawyer, and has never been a judge. Instead he made his name as a lobbyist for major Republican donors, especially in the coal industry. Despite that lack of experience, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-9 to move Myers' nomination to the full Senate on Thursday.

But a Federal Trade Commission decision to block a Wyoming coal consolidation that was made possible by a Myers lobbying blitz is shining a spotlight on the nominee's corporate background, and raising new questions about whether the Bush White House is using the courts as another way to pay back the special interests from which it raises millions of dollars. Corporate interests have become increasingly involved in attempts to influence the outcome of state judicial elections, so developing sway with the federal judiciary seems a logical step. There is no doubt that confirming Myers would give big business a friend on the crucial 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Courting big business

Thu, 01 Apr 2004 17:16:00 +0000