Doug Kmiec Nominates Sidley’s Carter Phillips for High Court

[WSJ_law_blog]

Carter Phillips, representing Duke Energy, talks to reporters outside the Supreme Court, Nov. 1, 2006, following oral arguments in a case involving clean air regulation. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)


Doug Kmiec, the perpetually polarizing Pepperdine prof, has an idea for a Supreme Court nominee: Carter G. Phillips.

Writing for Slate’s Convictions blog, Kmiec asks and answers the following question: “So if gender were not a consideration, is there a standout judicial candidate who could reorient the confirmation process away from real or imagined concerns with ‘activism’?and be acknowledged as superior in quality, temperament, and personal ethic of concern?”

Kmiec says there’s “not another advocate in the country” who is as respected as much as Phillips is for his “impartial legal judgment, personal integrity, and genuine friendship and assistance to his fellow members of the bar and to his community.”

Phillips (Ohio State U., Northwestern Law) is the managing partner of Sidley’s Washington, D.C., office. As Kmiec points out, Phillips, 56, argued five cases this term, bringing his total to 50 in private practice with an additional nine during his service in the Solicitor General’s office. According to Kmiec, Phillips, “with the circumspect demeanor of his mentor, the late Rex Lee, Phillips is one of those rare individuals of stature who could rather remarkably be seen as a nominee of either party.”

So what does Phillips think of all this? “It would be a substantial pay cut, for one thing,” he told the Law Blog.

“Unfortunately, the Constitution vested the power to nominate in the president. If it was otherwise, I’d be on the fast-track,” Phillips joked. “It’s very nice of Doug to write, but I don’t have any aspirations in that direction. I like practicing law. I’m fortunate to have much of my practice before the Supreme Court, and I think I’d like to stay just a Supreme Court lawyer.”