ABSTRACT
The issue of gender balance on the courts took center stage in 2005 when Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the fi rst woman to be confi rmed to the Supreme Court, announced her intention to retire. Because Justice O’Connor’s departure would leave the Supreme Court with only one serving woman (Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), public debate raged as to the merits of a more gender-balanced court. 1 President Bush, who was responsible for nominating O’Connor’s replacement, was focusing his search to fi nd “an acceptable female or minority legal fi gure.” 2 President Bush’s initial nominee, Harriet Miers, reinforced these speculations. However, opposition to Miers was strong, given her lack of experience; concern from the right that she was not conservative enough; and concern from the left that she would not uphold progressive policies. During the Miers debate, President Bush gained another opportunity to nominate a woman when Chief Justice William Rehnquist died. Given the visibility of the debate about gender and racial minorities, it is notable that, after the Miers nomination hit hard times and Miers withdrew from consideration, Bush ultimately nominated, and the Senate confi rmed, two male nominees (Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito). In the process, the Supreme Court moved from 22 percent female justices to a mere 11 percent.
