Judicial Ideology of Possible Supreme Court Nominee Alberto Gonzales

President Bush said today he will soon meet possible nominees for the US Supreme Court opening to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, but that other contenders may not require interviews because he already knows them. Some sources said a decision was likely this week, but Bush told reporters, "I'm going to take my time and I will be thorough and deliberate."

Many believe the President will eventually nominate US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to be a Supreme Court Justice, either now or for one or more additional vacancies likely to occur during the Bush presidency.

Over this past weekend, President Bush described qualifications for the Court nominee he is currently pondering as one who "will meet the highest standards of intellect, character and ability, and will pledge to faithfully interpret the Constitution and laws of our country." While pundits predict that Bush's first Court nominee will be a woman, Alberto Gonzales also superbly fits the President's candidate description.

The "paper trail" of Gonzales' judicial rulings and personal stances is scant and sketchy, though, as he was a judge for only two years. Newspapers, magazines and various groups have recently attempted to cobble together a comprehensive look at the potential judicial ideology and philosophy of Alberto Gonzales.

For your quick and easy reading, I have summarized Gonzales' utterances, writings and rulings on various hot-button topics likely to be faced by the US Supreme Court, such as abortion and Roe v. Wade, immigration, affirmative action, the USA Patriot Act and the war on terror, civil rights, freedom of the press, the death penalty, private property and consumer rights, and gay rights/gay marriage.

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