COBLE PRAISES JUDGE O'CONNOR ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF HER RETIREMENT

The chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security praised the career of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the announcement today of her pending retirement from the High Court.  U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) said that, "Justice O'Connor has had a distinguished career as a jurist.  She has never fitted snugly into an ideological mold, and I think clearly she is known far and wide as a swing vote on the court.  And I guess the ideological label that would be attached to her would be that of a moderate."

Congressman Coble said he did not have a nominee in mind that President Bush should name to replace Justice O'Connor.  "As a member of the House Judiciary committee," Coble noted, "I am sure our committee will follow the course of this nomination very closely, even though it will be the Senate that confirms her replacement.  I think if she was an obvious liberal or an obvious conservative, it might be easier to determine who her replacement should be, but since she has played the role of a swing vote and that of a moderate jurist, this process will be more of an enigma."